The Power of Clarity

Hi there, I'm Ben Morton and welcome to another episode of the Leaders Kit Bag. It's the weekly micro edition of my podcast. Each episode is just six minutes long and is designed to provide you with tips, tools and tactics around specific aspects of leadership and management. It addresses some of the most common, common challenges you will face as a leader or manager. They are all recorded unscripted whilst I'm out walking in the countryside. So you'll probably hear birds tweeting in the background or just ambient noise as the people around me are going about their day to day life. That's all I'm going to say by way of an introduction. So let's dive straight in to this week's episode.

If you've ever found yourself getting frustrated that the people who work for or with you don't seem to do as you ask, or seem to struggle to understand what you consider to be a very simple instruction, then today's episode of the Leaders Kit Bag is for you. Because we're going to explore how leaders and managers can communicate with absolute clarity and avoid any sense of confusion or ambiguity in terms of communication. There's a physical metaphor that says, every time we point the finger at somebody else, there's three fingers pointing back at us. So next time you're about to criticise somebody, perhaps internally, because they've not understood your message or that they haven't done as you've asked, I encourage you to pause for just a moment and ask yourself this. What part have I played in creating the situation that I don't want? Or what part have I played in creating this confusion? Because in my experience, it's almost always the case that we have created a part. Albert Einstein once said, true genius is making the complex simple, not making the simple complicated. And again, in my experience, I find that in what is often an unconscious act, us leaders or managers can overcomplicate things, often in an attempt to try and prove just how smart we are. My advice on this one, don't, don't do it. And I've got a very simple strategy that's particularly powerful in terms of written communication, be that in an email or a chat message. And it's simply this, once you've written your email or message that you're about to communicate, pause and ask yourself this. Where is the scope for confusion in the message I'm about to say now, it's very different to is there scope for confusion in the message I'm about to send? Because there almost always is. So write your message, reread it and look to make sure it is perfectly clear. The confusion or the potential for misunderstanding normally lies in a few areas. Perhaps there are abbreviations and acronyms that you've used, and despite it perhaps being the case that people should understand what they mean, the reality is they often won't. So get rid of the abbreviations and acronyms. Perhaps you've used words such as they or their. Again, will the person you're sending it to absolutely know who they are? And the final area where confusion can often creep in is due to the fact that a lot of the background or context that's in our head doesn't make it into the message we're about to send. And that's normally because as the communicator, we're working at pace, we're working very quickly, we're thinking about our needs and what we need to get done, rather than thinking about how do I help the person I'm communicating with to understand. So there you have it. A very simple tactic to help you, as a leader or manager, communicate with clarity. Yes, it requires a small investment of time and effort up front, but that investment gives you the reward of increased clarity, a lack of wasted effort and frustration. So it's absolutely worth it. That's it for today's episode of the Leaders Kit Bag. Hope it's been useful. As always, look after yourself, look after those around you, and until next time, lead on.