No News Isn't Always Good News
I'm full of gratitude, after spending time with several amazing teams across the country these last couple of weeks.
Even though there is bad stuff happening in the world on any given day, there is so much good stuff that happens when a group of high-integrity leaders get together in a room.
It blows me away every time.
RADIO SILENCE
This week's reflection is about communication.
Last week, I was flying back from facilitating a leadership team offsite on a flight that was scheduled to leave at 7:40. We boarded the plane, and prepared to take off (or so we thought).
The clock said:
7:40, then
7:50, then
8:00,
8:10,
8:20.
Finally, at 8:35, we took off.
The entire time we were sitting there, the flight status showed as “on time” on the airline app, and there was no update from the pilot or crew. We sat in silence, wondering what might be going on.
Did the plane break down?
Did the pilot decide to abruptly quit?
Are we waiting to be cleared for take-off?
Are we actually leaving tonight or will this be one of those situations where we need to de-plane and start over?
While airline delays, issues, and general absurdity are par for the course when traveling, the complete lack of communication was unusual.
No update from the pilot,
No update from the crew,
And no update in the airline app.
Radio silence.
Thankfully, nearly an hour later, we did finally take off, but we still have no idea what was going on.
And we probably never will.
NO NEWS ≠ GOOD NEWS
No news was not good news.
And the same is typically true in our leadership.
No news is typically not considered good news when it comes to communicating with our team members, clients, or about upcoming changes.
The Culture Code shares a fascinating statistic: an employee survey across 600 companies by Inc. magazine revealed that less than 2 percent of employees could name the company's top three priorities.
This means that even though we think we are effectively communicating key priorities, we often aren't (and, even if we are, they aren't always landing in the way we might think).
COMMUNICATING
We can avoid the radio-silence-plane situation by communicating often, over-communicating, and carving out time each week for communication.
It is easy (for me, anyway) to get focused on the work that we are engaged with and the people in front of us. As a result, it can be helpful to have some sort of structure or system to help us communicate in the way we desire —perhaps a weekly reminder for big picture updates, or a line item on our weekly review for people we need to update or communicate with.
Is there a situation coming to mind that you feel could benefit from some additional communication or clarification?
And, are there any systems or structures that support you in doing so?
Questions to Consider
Where can I provide more clarity?
Where can I offer an update?
Where would I benefit from more communication?
Are there any instances where I think I've been communicating effectively but others might feel differently?
Are there any instances where I'm in the room and others aren't —but they are impacted by the decisions and outcomes of what is decided in the room? How can I solicit their input and feedback?
