I Can’t See, I Can’t Hear

We all have blindspots. If you don’t think you do – well, you just discovered your first one.

Effective leaders take the time and give the attention needed to uncover and work through their blindspots.

Let’s talk about one - communication. You tell yourself: I am a great communicator; I over communicate; my team knows what’s going on; and I know what’s going on.

Maybe, maybe not.

You Are Not as Good as You Think

Hate to break it to you. Many leaders are surprised when they ask their teams, what are the key priorities and/or strategic objectives, and nobody knows. Or, they give some vague half-answer.  Leadership thinks everyone is aligned with their vision and strategic goals, and they aren’t always.

There are probably a few good reasons for this. There is so much noise every day, all day. Information coming fast and furious at your team from all directions. Additionally, as with most communications, particularly in large and scaling organizations, it’s one long game of telephone.

The more complex the structures, the more layers, the more formal the culture the worse it gets. Not to mention work from home added new complexities.

Messages get distorted whether well-intentioned mistakes or intentional acts driven by self-interest. Think about a simple text – tone matters, context matters, mood of the person you are sending it to, your history with that person, how well they know you...the message doesn’t always land as intended or the information itself is lost in the shuffle.  We have all been there.

Information Is Flowing Freely

With all the right structures, systems, reporting lines, etc., the information you get from those on the ground floor or those on high, is far from the truth.

Again, could be miscommunications along the chain. It is also a question of the culture you have created. Is it one where feedback, opinions, debate, and dissenting views are encouraged? I recently wrote about psychological safety and the power of feedback, so I will just say what you hear isn’t always the truth and many CEOs and senior executives find themselves surrounded by “yes” men and women.

As a Founder or CEO you are uniquely challenged. Peter Thiel described it well, “As CEO, you are somehow both the total insider and the total outsider at the same time.  In some ways you’re at the center of the organization. In other contexts, you’re like the last person to know anything.”

Even if information is flowing, your team may not think you are communicating. Communication as a human element. There is an exchange.

See the Light

Once you appreciate the disconnects you can work to fix them.

Repetition is key. If you want your message to cut through all the noise, you need to deliver it frequently and through multiple channels. Amplify the sound. Your job is to keep your team focused and rowing in the same direction.

That firm-wide email or town hall following the annual offsite or the quarterly updates the review some key metrics, don’t cut it. Priorities should be repeated, perhaps, at weekly team meetings. In one-on-ones, ask the other person to repeat back what they heard or have them explain the key priorities and goals to someone else on the team, with you listening. If there are shifts make sure you announce them and give some context for why there has been a shift.  People will not only hear what you have to say but also absorb it and integrate it into their daily functions more readily if they understand the rationale behind certain decisions. If they are bought-in on the vision and the goals.

You also need to be clear about expectations and desired outcomes. There has to be a shared understanding of the expected levels of performance, the success measures, and the weight given to various targets.

Be as clear as you can. Precise and concise. The more exacting you can be in your language the less room for people to layer on their own interpretations. If your message is unclear, someone has to make assumptions about your meaning and fill in the blanks.

Don’t shy away from the tough stuff (this might be more of a blindspot around your willingness to be assertive or conflict avoidance, but it’s still about communication). Err on the side of more transparency  - not less, not silence! Many Founders and CEOs confronted any inclinations they might have had (known or unknown) to hide the bad news when the pandemic hit. As uncertainty continues and markets opportunities shift for better or worse, don’t leave questions unanswered, the rumor mills churning, and the anxiety levels rising.