Recently I have been involved in a lot of selling and buying of assets. Once deals are agreed to the legal work begins and the intentions of the deals can get lost in the legal details and jargon. Then the negotiating and frustrating conversations begin again. Eventually all gets done but the frustrations and cost of professional fees remind me how important communications are and how costly the lack of communications can be.
I have been advising clients for many years that the source of most problems is the lack of clear, committed communications. And what will fix most things is to have clear communications around what is wanted by everyone who is committed to achieving it.
Too often we send out memos via e-mails trying to make things clear, asking for questions and feedback, only to get little or no response. What is the commitment there? I guess it was only important to us. Probably we really don’t know what the people receiving the memos are committed to or what they want.
Or, we have had tons of idea finding, vision creating sessions only to find out later that the participants really thought it was just an exercise or feel good buy-in session. In other words, no one really expected people to mean what was being said and very little clear action followed. It must be someone else’s responsibility to act. Did we really get to the real wants? Did we allow authentic conversations?
Or, you have been in situations where your gut was saying “this isn’t good”. “I don’t like the trend here” and you didn’t speak up because you were busy and focused on something else, or afraid to hurt feelings, or being punished by management. It is important to be aware of others feelings and what management wants. It is also important to know how to confront without destroying others and to match others wants with yours. If you don’t it will comeback to bite you in the legal documents, or in the business plans not executed, or new directions you don’t agree with and in a frustrated behavior and attitude. Then the complaining and frustrations continue.
Or, we said we were going to do something for someone and quickly forget it in favor of a myriad of other things we want or need to do. And we let people down. Trust and respect is tarnished and people no longer pay attention to our memos or conversations. They just expect we will let them down and consequently we never understand what is wrong with them. They must be unmotivated or disengaged is what we might think. We can quickly forget that commitment goes both ways. It is amazing how employees will talk to other employees or friends before they will talk to the person to whom they actually made commitments to. They just don’t trust management because they think they let people down. And they don’t understand the power of committed conversations and never letting anyone down.
Now I believe communications is the toughest thing in the world. Plans and situations change and most can’t remember the last update and get confused by the overwhelming amount of information coming at them. And we can’t get around to those required tough conversations to clear things up. Nice excuse…business is complicated. It is up to us to simplify things.
How? Begin this week:
- To get out and listen for and clarify what it is our people and the company are committed to. Also, listen for what is behind what people say and their actions. You will find it. Identify it and tell them of your support.
- To make sure we remind others of our commitments (and maybe ourselves)
Be clear to others, what we are doing and why.
- To always do what we say we are going to do. If we can’t do it on time or we have to change the plan, then make sure it is clear in advance and seek the understanding of those involved. When things go astray, talk to the people who are counting on you, not friends and neighbours. Frustrations will always be around but don’t lose sight of the commitments you have made. You will find people will be more eager to work and support you.
I have been in a lot of corporate meetings where people don’t speak up or just practice recreational complaining and you can sense how weak the commitment is in the team. I realize listening to me today sounds easier said than done in many cultures. Regardless, let me remind you that you are what you are committed to. It shows in your language and actions. So are others. If you want alignment and action on important things and not costly problems, re-commit this week to communicating the level of commitment. What freedom and clarity it will give you.
Sitting in the weeds, always staying open to options may work in some unfair environments but who the heck wants to big brag about being a full fledged member of an uncommitted team with no plans to go anywhere? Always frustrated and unhappy. And you helped to create it. And you are one of them. Keep reminding everyone of what is wanted, what we are committed to, so the details and frustrations don’t create costly errors in business and damaged relationships and team achievement.
Don’t let those unsaid, uncomfortable communications linger. Have the fierce conversation and move on. You can handle them. Show your commitment to your boss and team and have conversations that matter. If you don’t have them it tells a lot about you’re your ability to be committed. Communications can cost or build. It is up to you.
Have a great week tackling the biggest challenge in business.
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