Today at the end of a solid practice with one of my clients, we took a stroll back in time. I had him go back to October of 2008 and read one of my rants titled, Assume less. It was the perfect end to our practice, I felt.
He has been assuming that when he speaks to his team, they’re listening. Are you kidding me? Nope, he actually believes this. Today, his belief received some correcting and after 90 minutes of practice, the best argument won.
Mine.
I listened to his, asked some good questions, and then called him some names to get his attention and trigger some anger. I got him ready to receive the old fashioned way. He connected and I know this because I was able to see his thinking by what he wrote. Very cool…
Remember, when you say to your team things like “lets just think out loud for a moment,” they don’t hear those words. They hear that the boss has an idea and wants to cram it down my throat and make me think it was mine. Their fears are triggered even further when it involves anything or anyone that their mind views as a loss. Humans, remmember, are mostly wired for loss aversion. Any time the brain thinks a loss is coming it triggers big time fear, anxiety, and doubt. The ears shut and the mind gets focused on limiting the damage. The more words you use, the worse it gets.
Send less, assume less, and develop the discipline of having your receivers write what they heard, especially when what you were sending could be perceived as a loss. Make sense?
Assume less, my friend.
Assume less…
BUILT TO LEAD 