Dec 26, 2018
If you are planning a party or
weekend getaway, surprises can be fun and exciting. In business and
leadership, they are most often stressful and detrimental. Today,
Jim and Jan discuss surprises in several different contexts, and
how good leaders can encourage proactive communication. They also
talk about the type of environment leaders should create to
safeguard against misinterpretation and log jams.
Key Takeaways
[3:14] Saying you don’t like or
want surprises can have unwanted outcomes. First, people interpret
it to mean they shouldn’t take risks. Second, it can
unintentionally create log jams of over communication.
[4:35] Replace “FYI” emails with
proactive communication.
[6:15] Good leaders foster an
environment where it’s okay to talk about bad news, and where the
messenger is valued.
[7:33] It is up to the leader to
lay out the outline of behavior they want from their management
team. A few ground rules that can help people get ahead of a
potential surprise are to plan for:
- How
you would like someone to handle a situation when things appear to
be going sideways.
- What
the context is of the situation, who the affected parties are, and
the implications.
- Gather facts.
- Present the rational response, and communicate
the course of action.
[18:51] Pressure test your
assumptions. Ask questions, check, and inspect. Hiring is one
example where we must dig in and question our bias.
Quotes
- “When
you tell people you hate surprises, you are fundamentally altering
the culture of your organization by default, not
design.”
- “Be
careful what you ask for, because it’s likely to get
misinterpreted.”
- “Bad
news is not like fine wine.”
- “You
can expect what you inspect.”
EP19: If You are Not Making
Mistakes, You are Not Pulling Hard Enough
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