Communication Is Not A Two-Way Street
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Today's second topic is 'The Myth of the Work Family.'
Word Count: About 1,100 words, with an approximate reading time of 4 to 6 minutes. Please share your thoughts in the comments.
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A chapter in my book describes communication as a five-step process.
The sender has an idea.
The sender turns the idea into a message.
The message is transmitted.
The message is received.
The idea forms in the receiver's mind.
This structure implies a linear process. But the reality is people read from their point of view, which is always different from the author's perspective. It comes in from a different direction. Rather than a two-lane road, communication occurs at the intersection. When there are multiple recipients, the intersection becomes a roundabout.
Jeremy Connell-Waite shares excellent content about communications and storytelling on LinkedIn, and his Tell Better Stories website. He shared a short clip from the University of Chicago's Leadership Lab. The lecture makes several points we should consider when writing for developing presentations.
Writing is the process that helps you think, organize your thoughts, and put them into a compelling order.
Writing is not about demonstrating your knowledge. It is about persuading people that what you know is valuable to them.
People read your presentations with a challenge mindset. They will doubt your conclusions and proposals. No one accepts proposals at face value.
Presentations that enhance the problem resonate with readers.
Write for your audience. Add to their understanding of something they care about.
The objective of writing is to move the conversation forward. It is not about sharing your feelings and ideas, it is about changing the way your readers think.
The video is long but well worth a listen.
Related Articles
LEADERSHIP LAB: The Craft of Writing Effectively (University of Chicago/YouTube)
Jeremy Connell-Waite's LinkedIn Post
The Myth of the Work Family
A recent LinkedIn Post by Hanna Larsson caught my eye. She explores why Netflix refers to itself as a professional sports team rather than a family. This is absolutely true and too many companies do not realize this.
The Texas Rangers have a sign on the wall of their spring training facility that lists three important statements about being a good team: Compete With Passion, Be a Good Teammate, and Dominate The Fundamentals.
Compete With Passion – To be effective in business, you have to be willing to give it everything you have to be your best and stand out in your markets. What is unsaid is that in addition to passion, you must compete with integrity. A reputation for integrity enables firms to attract good talent and build strong customer relationships.
Be A Good Teammate – Everyone was to have a successful career. Individual success does not come at the expense of the team. To be your best, you must work to help everyone around you be their best.
Dominate The Fundamentals – Sports teams have an abundance of metrics to measure performance. The brutal reality is that athletes lose some of their edge as they age. In many respects, the fundamentals never change. In business, the fundamentals change and new ones, like generative AI, are added. To be successful, we must always master the fundamentals.
Great teams care about the individual and treat them with dignity and respect. They are also pragmatic. They trade and release players in a never-ending effort to improve. Businesses are no different. They will let go of people. They will acquire and divest operations.
Businesses fail to measure up to sports teams in two ways. When they try to be families rather than teams, they create and unrealistic trust relationship. This results in a sense of betrayal when tough business decisions are made. Most business also do poor job in helping their people understand what their fundamentals are and what it means to dominate them.
Related Articles
A Company Is Not a Family (Hanna Larsson)
Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings: Focus on employees you'd fight to keep (cnbc.com)
7 Leadership Lessons From Former Netflix CEO Reed Hastings (Builtin)
What I'm Up To
Hanging out in Atlanta with the grandkids while my daughter recovers from surgery.
We are planning a short road trip to see the eclipse with several friends. We could watch it here but a road trip sounded fun. We are also going to spend a couple of days in San Antonio.
The Most Unique Ways to Enjoy the Total Solar Eclipse (Observer)
Chips and Salsa: Snack-sized news and posts
Many of my friends have said Dune Part Two is better than Part One. Articles are saying the same thing as if it is a shocking revelation. This is not a surprise. Part One ends with a cliffhanger; Part Two finishes the story.
I Found Frank Herbert's Dune Script. Dune: Part Two Is Better (Wired)
Deep conversation requires you to ask good questions and pay attention to the answers. This focus on the other person is what makes for building a good relationship.
Build on your strengths. Focus strategic investments on initiatives that are one or two degrees of separation from your core.
Apple's Defunct Electric Vehicle Project Violated 3 Success Principles 9 Inc.)
The pandemic disrupted how people work. It will take even longer for things to settle down.
Quiet quitting. RTO. Coffee badging. What this new vocabulary says about your workplace (LA Times)
A few good puns from The Far Side.
10 of the Far Side's Most Ridiculous Puns (& Why They're Actually Genius) (ScreenRant)
Not only does delegation unleash your team's potential; it also unleashes yours.
7 ways to delegate better and unleash your team's full potential (Fast Company)
Move more, eat less, eat better.
Obesity Is Rising in the U.S. (Statista)
More on daylight savings time.
What to know about the political debate around daylight saving time (NPR)
Quotes
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
“Pessimism leads to weakness; optimism to power.”
- William James
“The people closest to me determine my level of success or failure. The better they are, the better I am.”
- John Maxwell
You can order The Leader With A Thousand Faces on the Recommended Reading Page of my website.
My goal is to make this newsletter as interesting and valuable as possible. Please share your thoughts and suggestions for improvement. If there are specific topics in leadership you would like me to focus on in future issues, please send them my way.
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