I firmly believe that the most important leadership tool, beyond knowing your destination and road map, is to set the example. This means complete and total emersion into the lifestyle you want your team members to live. Instead of reaching out for information to guide, motivate, train, manipulate, or trick your team into performing the way you think they should, internalize the information and live it. Others may not imitate your behavior but you can bet they’ll follow your example if you’re willing to set a good one.
Communicating is an skill that takes lots of practice (at least for us guys…)
Communication is a biggie that needs to be firmly established in your leadership toolbox as a regular, highly used tool. Learning: to communicate, how to communicate, when to communicate, and how to utilize the various media for communication are important to grasp before you’re in a leadership position. Mastering the communicative skills and the various media will allow you to set the example of their proper use for those around you.
Different media are good for different subjects and different situations. Disciplinary counseling is typically a face-to-face conversation rather than an email or over-the-phone type communication. A shotgun email, on the other hand, would serve to announce the upcoming dress down Friday. Learning how and when to use email, telephone, written memo, group meeting, etcetera, is something you need to pursue. You must learn to anticipate the reaction or response to what you’re communicating in order to choose the appropriate method.
Let me illustrate. When you attend higher level meetings where you’re briefed on bigger picture company news or policy changes, you need to communicate the knowledge you learned to your team. If it is fairly routine news you can send out an email to summarize the major points affecting your team. If a policy requires documented delineation, you may want to send out a memo to be initialed by all (possibly attached to a copy of the policy with changes highlighted). For something more controversial, you may want to hold a meeting where you can answer questions and assess the mood of the group. It is even acceptable to include a brief explanation of the form chosen (i.e. “Very little news affecting us from today’s meeting so I’m sending this email with a summary.”).
Document, document, document…
Similar to my other mantras such as Integrity first and mission failure is not an option, documentation is an important part of “being in charge.” I don’t stress it as a CYA (cover your butt) function but as a good habit for many different reasons. Keeping notes helps you provide specific performance feedback while relying on memory doesn’t. Writing things down (soft copy or hard copy) allows you to keep track of what was said so you can align the initial instructions with the results. It helps you keep track of reality during the shifting expectations of an inconsistent boss or when the subordinate goes above and beyond. In either case, you have the original to compare to results and with a date stamp you have a timeframe reference.
Before you throw your hands up in exasperation because you don’t have time to write all these things down all the time, that’s not what I mean. Jotting down notes, simple reminders, doesn’t need to take more than a second or two. You’re not a court stenographer. You’re not recording history to cover you in a court case. This isn’t a way to cover your butt (though it can in certain instances). You just need a system to organize your notes similar to the way you organize your thoughts. Example (this is old school so you may need to creatively move it to something more up-to-date), when I was managing projects I used a 6-part folder. In one part I would have a sheet of paper with two columns, one for the date and a bigger one for notes. A second part would be for email printouts pertaining to the project. These two sections were easy to keep current and they were very helpful in meetings when decisions were discussed. Having previous conversations at my fingertips allowed me to share information with authority and not just seem like I was making stuff up. I had changes documented, a reference from whence they came, and a point of contact when handling those parts of my project. Communication was easy and to the point.
Sharing information.
Establish yourself as a person willing to share information. You don’t want to overfilter the information and you don’t want to drown everyone in nonapplicable information. One effective way is to provide the entire document, such as a changed company policy, with the change highlighted. That’s also a good way to pass around a trade publication, with the applicable information highlighted or pages marked in someway. Let them see what’s going on so they understand your actions and decisions better. People discuss transparency as though it means they aren’t hiding anything but it’s best to show people what’s happening. This also helps prepare them for a move up the ladder by keeping them abreast of company business, the bigger picture.
One problem that crops up time and time again is lack of communication. It seems that people aren’t comfortable being in the dark and even though they may trust you, they still feel a strong desire to know. Often there may be very little to talk about but people still need to hear you say it. I have watched people fret over the fact that the boss doesn’t seem to want to talk to them but he’ll talk to others. Many times it’s not about work but about something like sports and the people he’s talking to are fans of the same sport or team (or at least pretending to be). I have stressed in previous posts that a leader has to know how to listen. A leader also has to know when to speak. It may be nothing more than a reassuring “all is well” but your team needs to hear it.
Not sharing...
A couple of reasons I have hesitated to communicate what I was up to dealt with the actions I was afraid would result if other people knew. One was that coworkers would try to subvert my idea by misrepresenting it to the boss before I was ready to make my pitch. The other was the threat of the boss saying no without actually considering my idea (easier to beg forgiveness than obtain permission). I found it rarely, if ever, mattered if I said anything ahead of time.
Reminds me of a story (though maybe not completely apropos)...as one of six forecasters at a base in Idaho, I was serving as the primary trainer of newly arriving forecasters in the weather station. All tasks had written Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to be followed. They filled a 3” binder. Their format was anything but standard and nearly all were out-of-date and most no longer reflected current practice. It was policy that the SOPs were to be reviewed annually but we had procedures for using equipment that hadn’t been in the weather station for years. It made training difficult because they were hard to follow and you had to train around all the deviations of current practice. Previously suggested updates had gone into the Major’s office (better known as the black hole) and were never seen again.
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| The other forecaster and the space where it all happened...my desk on right |
I enlisted the help of another forecaster and we set out to update the SOPs. We met after duty hours and on weekends for weeks. We spent many long hours writing, testing, and rewriting them into a functional, standard format. We got them all entered into the computer since many had been typed on a typewriter. When we were done we had a up-to-date, highly organized set of SOPs in a standard format that was easy to follow and they all fit into a 1” binder. We were pretty proud of ourselves and took them to the commander for approval. He rejected the entire set out of hand. We convinced him to at least try one so we could prove to him they worked. He picked one that walked through every keystroke involved in downloading one of our products. Without looking at or reading the SOP he started pushing buttons on the keyboard. He failed to download the product. He claimed all our SOPs were wrong and would hear no more about it. The 3” binder remained the “official” set of SOPs but we used the 1” binder to conduct our daily tasks. Most of the other forecasters just winged it (easier than following proper procedures). The success or failure of our idea/work didn’t hinge on anyone knowing or not knowing ahead of time. Its ultimate failure was wrought through pure stupidity and “You can’t fix stupid.”
What form do you use?
Too much fuss is made about everyday communications of a strictly business sort. Two rules I try to follow are proper etiquette/being polite and emotion free (but not humorless). As for your preference, I would recommend one that works for you and the individual with whom you’re attempting to communicate. Quick example from my recent past, I worked with a selectman (there are 3 of us) that didn’t do email and didn’t own a cell phone. I either had to phone him at home or work, meet him face-to-face, or send him a letter (he lives next door). Fortunately, he was easy to get ahold of and in a town of 800 people there’s not a lot of business requiring contact outside of the weekly meeting (and business itself can’t be conducted outside of a public meeting anyway). The other selectman only checked his email once a week and didn’t text. Options were limited for me, the guy who loves email.
The same polite formalities exist in personal conversation, phone conversation, and email conversation. A polite opening and closing is professional. I carry this to email as well. After the initial hello, as in all conversations, I will drop the hello and goodbye on subsequent replies.
My fondness for email has several key reasons. I have found email works to provide a written record of a conversation that can take place over a fairly long period of time. Answering an email can wait until you’re good and ready. I don’t have to ensure they’re in the office or available to take my call, I just send it. I hate phone tag, just send me a damn email. Attachments can be included in an email that don’t show very well over the phone.
The example to set in email is to practice good prose and prompt replies. People try to say email is unable to convey a message the same as talking because of the lack of vocal inflection or the body language in face-to-face conversations. I find the argument funny (as in laughable). Writers throughout the ages have written books, poems, love letters, and so forth that convey the message completely. You’re probably picking up a tone and attitude from me right now as you read this. As for the prompt reply, I don’t mean a full answer but a reply that clearly indicates you received and read the email. Don’t forget to print and file those emails containing valuable information you may need later.
Talking over the phone or face-to-face have their place in business communication. As I attested to above, some people refuse to do business any other way. Still many require a follow-up email. These follow-up emails provide the written documentation I feel is necessary for all business conversations. Again, you’re working on establishing a habit that will become an example for your subordinates.
Meetings, Bloody Meetings. (I watched the video)
Note taking at meetings is yet another way for you to practice being that example. When you keep track of what’s being said at a meeting you have to be alert and engaged. Jotting simple short points or notes on the agenda to “record” the meeting helps keep you focused. It also helps you recall what was discussed. It’s a trick I learned from sitting through boring lectures in college. If everyone at the meeting was following suit, chances are the meeting would take less time with fewer sidebars and random digressions. Believe it or not, information at meetings is communicated far more effectively if the group remains focused on the agenda (assuming there is one).
The scary part of meetings for some is to be on the other end, the presenter. I personally suffer from severe stage fright. It’s not a good phobia to have when it’s your job to brief the weather forecast to rooms full of people. I found two things worked for me in meetings, a thorough knowledge of the material to be covered and having a written agenda. Briefing skills are a necessary part of moving up and the sooner you conquer them, the more time you have to perfect them.
Respectful vs. Respecter
My final thoughts on being an example in how you communicate with others. Be respectful to all and never be a respecter of persons. It’s as phony as a lead nickel. You will be much more effective in your communication if you are respectful.
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