How Well Do You Understand How People Communicate?
I love to talk about big picture stuff, the media world, and
global impact. But we sometimes forget that just getting your message
understood by your boss, or your employees or team is critical to making
the big picture happen. In the media, two types of communicators you need
to understand are people who think by talking about it, and people who
think by doing. I’m a doer. Maybe it’s my A.D.D., but I’m not
interested in details. Matthew Phillips is our COO at Cooke Pictures and
he’s a detail guy. That’s a big reason I brought him on the team. He
has a white board in his office with circles, arrows, buzzwords, and other
stuff – it’s just filled. Matthew wants to look under the hood and
rummage around in there. I just want to see the dashboard. Tell me how fast
we’re going, and if we have enough gas, I’m fine.
Which type is your boss? Your clients? Your team? The people you
communicate with?
When my team brings me detailed reports, or ramble on and on, I mentally
check out. When particularly detailed people schedule an appointment with
me, my assistant tells them “When his eyes glaze over, the meeting is
done.” If you want to get to me, it’s bullet points, not details.
It’s pretty common with husbands and wives. The only real arguments my
wife Kathleen and I have are over the same thing. She thinks by talking
things out. We have 2 daughters in college, and the oldest has always had
horrible migraines. We’ve spent many a night up with her, and Kathleen
has spent hours in the bathroom holding her during violently ill episodes.
The other night Kelsey’s boyfriend Chris called us up at 1am. He was in
the boy’s dorm and Kelsey had called him from the girl’s dorm throwing
up and asked him to call us. Should he take her to the emergency room?
Kathleen knows more about that stuff so I gave her the phone and she
started asking Chris about the situation. She got out of bed and walked
downstairs. Time went by. I’m wondering what’s going on. After 10
minutes or so I got up and went downstairs, and Kathleen was still talking
to Chris. “Well what happens with a migraine is…” Blah, blah,
blah…. Just chatting away while our daughter is puking her brains out in
her college dorm.
I grabbed the phone and said, “Chris, take her to the emergency room.
Make sure she has her insurance card, and get someone to walk her down from
her room. Meet her at the door with your car and get to the hospital. Call
me when you get there.”
Done.
Kathleen was processing the situation by talking about it, which is
quite normal for women. I processed it by taking action.
Kathleen’s women friends get together and it’s a non-stop chat fest.
I get together every once in awhile with a group of guys we call “The
Burbank Cigar Club” and we sit in a friends backyard overlooking the San
Fernando Valley in LA, light a fire, and enjoy a good cigar. Sometimes
5,10,15 minutes go by and we don’t way a word.
It’s guy thing.
The point is? We are constantly frustrated because we don’t take the
time to learn how people communicate. It's not about "better or
worse." Both styles work just as well, but are very different in the
way they happen.
Know who you’re talking to, and make sure the message you transmit is the message that’s received.
Some leaders concern themselves with every detail of the organization while others prefer to enjoy the "big picture" view from 50,000 feet.
THIS POST FROM: http://www.gaebler.com/Leadership-Vision.htm
But as the leader of a small business, you have to wonder which vision of leadership is best for your company?
The answer is more complicated than you think. Each approach has advantages as well as some significant disadvantages. If you're not sure where you fall on the leadership spectrum, here are some points you may want to consider.
Big Picture Leadership Style
Big picture leaders tend to invest their time and energy in obtaining a global perspective of their business and the marketplace in general. Under the right circumstances a global perspective can offer huge benefits because it gives your business the ability to pounce on gaps in the marketplace and other opportunities that never even appear on the competition's radar. In some cases, this kind of leadership can also give you the ability to implement a strategic plan several steps ahead of your peers.
However, big picture leadership has its limitations. An uncanny ability to assess gaps in the marketplace is worthless unless your company is capable of delivering the products the market requires. If you are out of touch with the daily operation of your business, chances are you won't have any idea what you are capable of delivering and the goals you set will be unrealistic at best.
Detail-Oriented Leadership Styles
Detail-oriented leaders have the advantage when it comes to knowing what their business is actually capable of delivering. Frequent interaction with those responsible for the business' day-to-day operations provides leaders with an intimate knowledge of the company's capacity to adapt and leverage new opportunities when they arise.
The downside of detail-oriented leaders is that they often become so engulfed in the details of the business that they become, in effect, managers. The problem with that is when leaders fill a strictly management role, the leadership needs of the business are left undone and the company misses opportunities that are critical for sustained growth.
A Hybrid Approach to Leadership
The best small business leaders are the ones who are capable of developing a leadership vision that combines the best of both worlds. These leaders remain acutely aware of the details of running the business. They maintain a current understanding of what is happening in every aspect of the operation, from purchasing raw materials to delivering the final product. However, their up close and personal participation in the business doesn't deter them from actively seeking a higher-level perspective. They regularly and intentionally create space in their schedule to step away from the details and assess the big picture. They may even design a reading regimen of books and periodicals to help create distance between themselves and the details from time to time.
The best way to assess your current leadership style is to ask the people who know you best – key employees and industry peers who are capable of giving you an honest appraisal of how you lead now and helping you tailor a vision of leadership that is a perfect fit with your business.
I think I'm starting to understand the "eyes glaze over" part.
I found this post rather amusing... true and amusing. I consider myself a "big picture" kind of guy. I don't like a whole bunch of details myself. I leave that for my wife... mainly. However, there are times when I get in "detail mode" and can ramble off for a while. But I can't sustain this for the long haul. My brain starts to hurt. Although, I do find that I will often have a lot of ideas going in my mind at one time. I can see how both are needed. I usually can bring a big idea to my wife, who then goes into detail mode and breaks it down into steps and bite-sized pieces. Then I can take it from there most of the time because the bite-sized pieces are now small ideas. One of my communication professors in college always liked to say, "Communication is a two-way street." It's not enough just for the message to go out. The messenger needs to make sure that the one receiving the message... "gets" the message. Often (but not always), when two or more people argue, it turns out to be about a miscommunication and not that both parties are saying two completely different things. So two-way communication on an individual level is of the utmost importance. Allen Paul Weaver III author, Transition: Breaking Through the Barriers www.allenpaulweaveriii.com