The Language of Leadership: The Quiet Signals That Set Great Executives Apart
And how we listen for it in every recruitment process.
When recruiting senior executives or CEOs, councils naturally focus on track records, qualifications, and past roles. These things matter.
But in the quiet work of executive search, there’s something else we listen for, something harder to measure but easy to miss: the language of leadership.
How leaders speak tells us as much about their mindset as any resume. And the best candidates use a particular kind of language, not loud or rehearsed, but thoughtful, future-focused, and quietly strategic.
This is what we listen for. And this is what great leaders reveal, often without knowing it.
Vision, Not Just Operations
Strong leaders talk about where things are going, not just where they’ve been. They share vision, clearly, simply, and connect it to real outcomes for the organisation and community.
It sounds like:
"The next three years will need a sharper focus on regional partnerships to support growth…”
or
"What matters most is setting a direction that outlasts any one leadership term.”
We quietly notice when candidates speak of the future with ease, not because they’ve memorised the council plan, but because vision is how they naturally think.
Systems, Not Silos
The best candidates don’t see problems in isolation. They naturally speak about systems, relationships and wider impacts.
They say things like:
"This decision won’t just affect infrastructure; it will shape community trust and future funding relationships."
It’s a clue that they see the whole picture, not just their part of it.
Data as a Decision Lens
They don’t guess. They don’t rely on instinct alone.
Good leaders use evidence to explain past decisions and to guide future ones:
"We shifted the service model because community usage patterns told us something was changing…”
It’s a sign of leadership grounded in reality, not just opinion.
Strategic Prioritisation, Not Endless Lists
Strong executives know they can’t do everything, and they say so.
"These are the three priorities that will matter most in the next 18 months.”
Clarity like this is rare and valuable.
Scenario Thinking and Risk Awareness
When asked about uncertainty, good candidates don’t panic. They calmly talk about options:
"If the funding changes, we’ll pivot this way. If the growth projection holds, we’ll expand here…”
The language of scenario planning shows judgement, not guesswork.
Mission Alignment
Great leaders tie their actions back to purpose; naturally, without effort.
"It matters because it improves liveability for our ratepayers…”
This quiet alignment with community and council mission is something we listen for, every time.
Influence and Collaboration
The best candidates talk about how they bring people with them, not just what they delivered.
"We built trust with stakeholders first; the policy change came later.”
True leadership is relational and the language reveals it.
Clarity Over Complexity
No jargon. No fog.
When leaders are truly clear in their thinking, their words are clear too. They can explain complex problems simply, and that matters deeply in council environments, where communication with councillors, staff and community is constant.
Forward Focused
They ask:
"What are the growth plans for this region?"
"How is the council thinking about long-term financial sustainability?"
Good candidates are as interested in your future as they are in their own.
And Strategic Language, Gently Used
Great leaders don’t force "business words". They use language like "value creation," "stakeholder trust," "long-term sustainability" naturally as part of real thinking, not because they learned the terms for the interview.
We hear it. And we note it.
Why This Matters in Executive Recruitment
At Leading Roles, we listen for this language every day, in every CEO and executive search we conduct.
It’s not always on the resume. It’s not always in the references. But it’s always in the way a candidate speaks, explains and thinks.
This is why councils trust us, not just to run a process, but to find leaders who fit local government’s complexity, humility and purpose.
And our judgement, sharpened over more than 200 senior executive appointments, means we can gently tell the difference between someone who performs leadership… and someone who is a leader.
Looking for that rare leader who speaks this way, and leads this way? Let’s have that conversation.
📧mark.ogston@leadingroles.com.au
📞1800 088 000
Because great leadership is heard long before it’s seen.