Lesson No. 5 - Huh?

I'm touching on something very basic today, and may return another day to go more into depth.

When managers, parents, presidents and other leaders express expectations clearly, chances for success increase dramatically. When they don't, not only do goals go unmet, but team, family, and organization members are often left frustrated...frustrated not only at the leaders, but at themselves for not being able to accomplish whatever the leader had envisioned.

Most people want to succeed. But poorly communicated instructions, expectations, explanations make it difficult.

A document from a company's recent Request for Proposal (RFP) that I worked on was very specific in what it wanted. At the same time, the wording was not very clear. This made me nervous. We had to be sure to give them what they wanted. (The team declined to ask for clarification or guidance. Interestingly enough, since answers to questions would be shared, we also know that none of our competition asked anything either.)

I can think of examples -- from family life or from the organizations I volunteer with -- where communications weren't clear enough. Inevitably, this led to dissatisfaction on all sides. When has this happened to you?

Just as when we are asked to do something and we want to know exactly what, when we ask others to do something for us, whether professionally or personally, we need to choose our words carefully. Even more importantly, perhaps, we need to think in a thorough manner, thnking everything through from start to finish, to make sure all aspects are covered and that there is no room for misunderstanding. It is always helpful to put yourself in your reader's or listener's place.

And of course, it's always a good thing to convey that you are happy to clarify, should the need arise.

Questions, anyone?