LEADERS ARE excellent communicators. The ability to communicate is a core quality of leadership. That's because 85 percent of your success as a leader is determined by your ability to communicate effectively with others. After all, being a leader is about dealing with others¿their success is your success. If you cannot communicate, you cannot be a leader. Communication is a skill that can be learned. The first step is to understand the five goals that you want to accomplish through your communication: 1. You want people to like and respect you. Leadership is not about making friends, but if you are liked and respected, people will be more willing to listen to them. 2. You want people to recognize your value and importance. The objective, again, is to give people a reason to listen to you, 3. You want to be able to persuade others to accept your view. Leadership today is more about persuasion than commanding. You have to be able to persuade others to see your point of view and agree with your position.