Sean Glaze says leaders often confuse intent with impact: what you mean to say versus how people actually hear it. He recommends stating your intent upfront in written communication, then spelling out exactly what you want people to do next.
So what's a common communication issue that effective leaders overcome? Well, it's the difference between intent and impact. See, intent doesn't always equal impact. Intent is what you mean to say. Impact is determined by the way that your people interpret that information. You should expect that your emails will often be read with a different tone based upon the name or subject that they see in their inbox. Think about how you have likely done the same. See, the story we tell ourselves about the speaker from previous interactions usually colors the impact of the words that we read from them. So in your text or in your emails, be as clear as possible about starting off by defining what is your intent, and then finish by clarifying the desired next steps. I'm Sean Glaze. That's what effective leaders do.
