How many conflicts do you think occurr because something has been miscommunicated, not communicated or poorly communicated? I'm not sure what figure you might place against it but it must be a high one. Just yesterday I found myself in teh midst of a conflict because someone had drastically miscommuicated something about me and what I had(n't) said.
Stu (a friend I lead with at Church) says "You can never over communicate something". My hunch is that this is correct! Bill Hybels says when speaking about vision, that it leaks, it takes 21 days to leak out of your vision bucket before you have to recast the vision. I'm more and more inclined to think that this concept is true for all ideas, instructions, pleas, directions, etc., and that the time frame is also much shorter.
The good news is that if you learn to communicate well, if you are constantly developing this skill and if you communicate clearly and repeticiously then you will see that part of your leadership cred is kept intact. Possibly the best way to keep your teams on track, your people focused, morale up, strategy sharp, vision clear and everyone on the same page, has to begin with clear, concise and consistent communication.
THE CALL TO ACTION: Analyse the things you are communicating at the moment to your teams, to those you lead with, to the people you lead. Is there anything you need to be more clear about? Are there more conversations you have to have to make sure everyone is on the same page? Is there something you need to tell your people again and again and again?
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