Clear, concise, and direct…

BTL believes master connectors speak from the heart and listen with an open one. BTL believes master connectors are clear, concise, and direct (always with respect). Today, during a hard hitting practice with a strong business owner who is becoming stronger by facing facts and letting them in instead of the norm of triple d (defend, deny, and destroy). He’s a humble warrior. I love building into him and men and women like him. Nothing better than one who wants to get better and faces hard truth, even when it hurts acutely to do so.

So, today, a strong man got stronger. Here’s how. He learned a nuance about ccd. You see these three are not equals. One stands heads and toes above the others. Do you see it?

You, leader, can be too concise. You can leave out stuff that leaves the team languishing in ambiguity. You can be too direct and have your delivery dismissed simply due to your style. You see direct and blunt are close cousins. You speak truth, yes, and you speak it wisely varying style but not content. FM, baby. So, here’s the magic. You cannot be too clear. You see, friend, clarity is the antidote to anxiety, and we live in an anxious world that’s getting more so by the minute. Your job, leader, is to mitigate anxiety and replace it with hard truth. No bullshit. No coddling. No fake news, just the facts.

Every leader we work with struggles with being clear, concise, and direct. Clarity is king. Begin within. Get clearer in your CORE. When you address an issue, speak from your heart, use few words, don’t dance – be clear. And, prepare to run it on repeat, as I coached my client this morning. Humans have a hard time hearing, you know. Clarity comes with your consistency leader. You don’t tell ‘em once or twice. You tell ‘em over and over and over again. Remember, MLK, leader. He repeated his “I have a dream” speech thousands upon thousands of times before we as a nation caught it. You’re no MLK, friend. Neither am I. So, get ready to run your OPUS back. Don’t get tired of telling ‘em where we’re going and why it matters. Love running it back. Love connecting your why to your audience. Love your OPUS. Love your team. Be clear. Nuf said.

Live hard. LOVE harder…