Thursday, February 14th, 2013
Leadership Language Lacking!
- Categories: Business Communication
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Have you been following the terrible story of the disabled cruise ship that’s pulling into Alabama today? It’s been floating around at sea for five days without power, working toilets and sufficient food! YUCK!
I’ll leave all of the nasty details to the passenger interviewed in this video. Take a look and then continue reading.
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You hear the passenger talk about the lack of consistency within the crew when giving directions, a failure to make updates on a regular basis, and the life in limbo that they’ve had to endure for nearly a week. Yes, I know there were other dirty details, but we’re sticking with the things relevant to communication and leadership.
In our executive communication and leadership language workshops 
we meet with people from manager level and up. It’s fascinating how many people think there’s a difference between management and leadership. When you’re a leader of any kind, (team captain, manager, director, executive, coach, teacher etc.) there are a few rules to you should always remember:
- Meet with your “team” early and often during strained times
- Make sure everyone has the same accurate information
- Limit speculation of what “might be,” by confining all public statements to what you know actually “is.”
- Give instructions or define a process, then follow through with what you said. Remember, consistency is the foundation for trust.
- Once you’ve informed your team, inform your customers or appropriate stakeholders within similar timing. Fear is born out of ignorance. The less people know, the more they imagine their own worst case scenarios!
With a title comes responsibility. There’s no way to sever the two. So remember the communication rules and you’ll see people trust, follow and remain calm in crisis because they trust you’re handling it!
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