WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.080 --> 00:00:03.680 Welcome to Hacking Your Leadership. I'm Chris and I'm Lorenzo. 2 00:00:03.759 --> 00:00:04.360 And Lorenzo on. 3 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:07.639 This episode, I want to talk about a letter that 4 00:00:07.719 --> 00:00:11.480 I found on the internet that was released Somebody in 5 00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:14.119 an organization released this letter that was sent to every 6 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:17.760 employee from the CEO. And it's a fairly large organization, 7 00:00:17.839 --> 00:00:20.399 and you know, we'll we'll keep it nameless because we're, 8 00:00:20.600 --> 00:00:23.120 you know, trying to make this less about the organization 9 00:00:23.239 --> 00:00:27.079 and more about this process and and what what good 10 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:30.760 leadership looks like versus when things should you know, should 11 00:00:30.839 --> 00:00:34.000 change a little bit. This email was sent out because 12 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:39.799 the the CEO was trying to address some uncertainty or 13 00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:45.479 lack of confidence being felt by the team because of 14 00:00:45.880 --> 00:00:48.640 issues the company has dealt with over the past year. 15 00:00:49.280 --> 00:00:53.280 And you know, sometimes when that happens, when when employees 16 00:00:53.640 --> 00:00:57.240 are facing uncertainty or they're feeling it or you know, 17 00:00:57.320 --> 00:01:00.479 you you look at engagement survey results and you know 18 00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:03.560 there are common themes or threads that people are saying 19 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:06.519 around you know, lack of confidence in the future, or 20 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:10.640 you know, questioning specific moves that the organization has made 21 00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:14.439 overall that you a lot of times you do need 22 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:18.640 to address those things, and it's a good thing when 23 00:01:18.680 --> 00:01:22.319 an organization decides to do that. But I'm calling this 24 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:28.680 one out because it seems like the organization decided that 25 00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:32.000 the right thing to do was address these issues, but 26 00:01:32.120 --> 00:01:35.879 they didn't go far enough in actually addressing them. They 27 00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:39.840 just decided to, you know, kind of they tried to. 28 00:01:39.879 --> 00:01:42.319 I think they tried to placate people by saying something 29 00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:44.760 to them without actually addressing what was going on in 30 00:01:44.760 --> 00:01:47.799 their minds, and sometimes that can cause more problems than 31 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:50.079 just not saying anything at all. So I want to 32 00:01:50.079 --> 00:01:52.200 go through some of these things that I'm seeing in 33 00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:54.400 this email and maybe how they could have been better. 34 00:01:54.599 --> 00:01:57.519 Because if you're a leader and you're thinking about what 35 00:01:57.560 --> 00:02:00.239 you're going to say to your teams on something, even 36 00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:03.280 an individual person one on one or your entire team, 37 00:02:03.560 --> 00:02:06.079 whether it's through email or in person or on a 38 00:02:06.200 --> 00:02:08.840 video call or a Slack channel, whatever, it is, the 39 00:02:10.319 --> 00:02:14.039 intentionality of the things that you say matters, and the 40 00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:17.879 words matter, and how you decide to address the issues 41 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:21.919 that are that you are trying to solve it matters, 42 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:24.599 and you don't want to cause more damage, You want 43 00:02:24.599 --> 00:02:26.080 to kind of move things in the right direction. 44 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:27.879 Yeah, I think you're spot on with that, and I 45 00:02:27.919 --> 00:02:29.560 was thinking the same thing as like, if you scale 46 00:02:29.560 --> 00:02:33.039 this down and you're trying to address something that's going 47 00:02:33.080 --> 00:02:37.039 on or that everybody is aware of, or a decision 48 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:40.159 that was made that maybe is having, you know, a 49 00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:43.960 potential negative impact to the feelings of the team, or 50 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:48.520 the business itself or customer traffic and demand. I think 51 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:51.080 the first thing that you have to do if you're 52 00:02:51.080 --> 00:02:54.159 going to communicate the team, which you absolutely should, is 53 00:02:54.319 --> 00:02:57.599 actually say the thing and like discuss what's going on 54 00:02:57.800 --> 00:03:01.599 and put that out there, because I think that that 55 00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:05.599 sharing what's happening and you know, making sure that people 56 00:03:05.719 --> 00:03:10.120 understand that you understand exactly what we're talking about or 57 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:13.000 exactly how the team is feeling or what you're hearing, 58 00:03:13.080 --> 00:03:17.680 or exactly that this decision potentially that was made has 59 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:20.599 been a really tough decision and it's something that you know, 60 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:23.039 maybe we're learning from and now we're feeling the impacts 61 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:26.599 of and it doesn't mean that the decision will change, 62 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:29.240 but we need to talk about the impact the decision 63 00:03:29.319 --> 00:03:31.400 is having. And I think that that's such a critical 64 00:03:31.560 --> 00:03:36.599 part of communicating, especially in those times in the times 65 00:03:36.599 --> 00:03:39.120 when there is uncertainty in the times when there is 66 00:03:39.560 --> 00:03:42.919 maybe massive change going on in the times where there 67 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:48.080 is you know, potentially restructuring or a pivot on the business, 68 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:52.360 or sometimes you know, companies sell parts of the business 69 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:55.360 or they sell the business to another larger company. Like, 70 00:03:55.719 --> 00:03:58.800 all these types of things that can happen can cause 71 00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:02.199 a lot of uncertain because things are now different. And 72 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:04.759 I think that when you're going to communicate that again, 73 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:08.479 whether it's large scale or smaller scale, individually or with 74 00:04:08.520 --> 00:04:12.800 a smaller team, I'm talking about the actual issues, the 75 00:04:12.840 --> 00:04:15.680 actual things, and the actual decisions, I think is absolutely 76 00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:19.920 critical to have any type of you know, maybe trust 77 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:22.240 or equity with the team to say like, yeah, I'm 78 00:04:22.279 --> 00:04:25.319 talking about exactly what we're living through, or I'm talking 79 00:04:25.319 --> 00:04:28.079 about exactly what you're sharing and I'm not kind of 80 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:31.800 being general about it, or I'm not trying to like 81 00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:35.120 say things like yep, you know, change is hard and 82 00:04:35.399 --> 00:04:37.439 there will be a brighter and better day and like 83 00:04:37.759 --> 00:04:39.959 there's a time for that. But I think if you 84 00:04:39.959 --> 00:04:43.600 get a sense that your team is struggling to understand 85 00:04:43.800 --> 00:04:48.399 or they're having a large reaction to it, that time 86 00:04:48.439 --> 00:04:50.240 is not that time. That time is a different time 87 00:04:50.360 --> 00:04:53.680 right now, it's about talking about the actual issue, being 88 00:04:53.800 --> 00:04:57.839 clear about where you stand and maybe why the decision 89 00:04:57.959 --> 00:05:03.560 was made, and allowing space to discuss, you know, uh, 90 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:06.360 the process that people are feeling through the change curve. 91 00:05:06.480 --> 00:05:07.600 Yeah, I think that's spot on. 92 00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:10.199 I think there's a There are a couple of sentiments 93 00:05:10.199 --> 00:05:14.879 that people can pull from this that that are probably 94 00:05:14.920 --> 00:05:18.480 not what the leadership team that sent this out, probably 95 00:05:18.519 --> 00:05:21.399 not what they wanted. Okay, So the first is that 96 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:26.040 the there is no ownership of the issues from a 97 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:28.839 leadership team. No one, No one directly says in the 98 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:32.920 email that you know, we we did this, which caused this, 99 00:05:33.319 --> 00:05:37.639 we own this. That they the email makes it seem 100 00:05:38.279 --> 00:05:42.279 like the company or the leadership team is almost a 101 00:05:42.360 --> 00:05:45.040 victim in this also, or that they're you know, a 102 00:05:45.079 --> 00:05:48.120 passenger in the car as opposed to driving the car. 103 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:50.319 And and while that. 104 00:05:50.199 --> 00:05:53.759 Might in the moment, it might make somebody say, you know, 105 00:05:53.839 --> 00:05:56.319 kind of the knee jerk reaction might be, oh, so 106 00:05:56.360 --> 00:05:59.240 they didn't cause this. This is something happening to them 107 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:05.639 that might very briefly cause employees to not blame the organization. 108 00:06:06.279 --> 00:06:10.399 But every time that happens, the not blaming the organization 109 00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:13.959 because these things are just happening to them. The collateral 110 00:06:14.040 --> 00:06:16.920 damage that comes with that is not having confidence in 111 00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:19.720 your own leadership team that they are driving the car. 112 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:22.959 And if you're working for an organization and you're a 113 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:25.160 passenger in the car, and then you look over and 114 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:28.000 you realize, oh, wait a minute, the person who is 115 00:06:28.279 --> 00:06:32.000 at at the podium every day saying we've got this, 116 00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:34.519 we're going forward. You look over and you realize that 117 00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:36.360 that they're steering wheel and their pedals are fake, and 118 00:06:36.360 --> 00:06:37.399 they're just sitting next to you. 119 00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:41.800 That lack of confidence is not worth. 120 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:46.519 Whatever lift you might get in trying to convince people 121 00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:49.240 that it wasn't your fault as a leader that something happened. 122 00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:51.879 You've you've basically you've given away all of your authority 123 00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:55.240 because you're trying to, you know, not have the responsibility. 124 00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:58.120 And so that's the first thing. The second thing is 125 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:03.360 that you know they they correctly address the problem right 126 00:07:03.399 --> 00:07:06.720 at the beginning, that silence from the leadership team is 127 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:11.680 creating uncertainty, So great, address it. That's that's good. But 128 00:07:12.600 --> 00:07:16.240 in the next paragraph they create more uncertainty by not 129 00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:19.199 kind of articulating what a solution to the problem is 130 00:07:19.720 --> 00:07:24.240 instead they go right on to you know, vague reassurances 131 00:07:24.439 --> 00:07:27.800 and you know, quoting the company values, and it's it's 132 00:07:27.839 --> 00:07:31.240 this kind of nothing burger email that says, you know, 133 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:35.800 that tries to lean heavily on things that that are 134 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:39.000 vague and values driven, but it's in the face of 135 00:07:39.240 --> 00:07:42.160 decisions that actually fly in the face of what those 136 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:46.160 values are. And and by calling out those those values, 137 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:49.759 you know, it kind of allows employees to see them 138 00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:52.720 in the context of those decisions, and it gives less 139 00:07:52.759 --> 00:07:54.519 credibility to those values to begin with. 140 00:07:55.199 --> 00:07:56.800 It's it's the it's. 141 00:07:56.600 --> 00:07:58.879 The elephant in the room scenario, right, So if you 142 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:01.680 if you look at what's what's underlying the elephant in 143 00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:04.639 the room scenario. Where that saying comes from is if 144 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:07.160 if I come in to my team and I say, hey, 145 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:09.600 you know, we have we've had some issues. You know, 146 00:08:09.639 --> 00:08:14.000 the furniture is destroyed and we need to replace it 147 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:18.519 or fix it. There is you know, animal feces all 148 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:20.480 over the floor and we need to get get that 149 00:08:20.519 --> 00:08:23.720 cleaned up, and and you know, like there's there's some 150 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:25.759 real issues here. But I think if we all work together, 151 00:08:26.120 --> 00:08:28.839 we can get this furniture rebuilt and we can get this, 152 00:08:29.160 --> 00:08:29.839 you know, the. 153 00:08:30.279 --> 00:08:31.279 Carpet cleaned again. 154 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:33.639 But I never even mentioned that there is a big 155 00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:35.919 elephant sitting behind me in the room to begin with. 156 00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:38.679 People are looking at me, but they're looking right past 157 00:08:38.679 --> 00:08:39.120 me at. 158 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:40.960 The elephant, going why is he talking about the elephant 159 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:43.279 like or why aren't we getting rid of the elephant 160 00:08:43.279 --> 00:08:44.720 before we start doing this stuff? 161 00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:46.639 Because it just happen. 162 00:08:46.440 --> 00:08:48.639 Again unless we get rid of the elephant, So that 163 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:50.440 that's what all saying comes from. Is not addressing the 164 00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:52.840 elephant in the room. That's exactly what is happening in 165 00:08:53.159 --> 00:08:57.240 emails like this, where you want to reassure a person 166 00:08:57.559 --> 00:09:00.559 that the effects of the elephant are not too much 167 00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:04.000 to get past without actually acknowledging that the elephant was 168 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:05.840 there to begin with, because you don't want to be 169 00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:08.840 blamed for the elephant, and you can't get both. You 170 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:11.240 either need to say nothing or you need to address 171 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:15.519 it with with candor and with transparency and with taking 172 00:09:15.559 --> 00:09:18.840 responsibility and knowing let the chips fall where they may, 173 00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:21.840 and some people may blame you short term for the 174 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:25.600 for the decisions that you made, but the longer term 175 00:09:25.720 --> 00:09:29.879 fallout will be far less if people believe that the 176 00:09:30.440 --> 00:09:34.039 that those at the company leadership team, they're the actual 177 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:35.039 ones driving the vehicle. 178 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:38.440 Yeah, it's kind of like walking into the team and saying, 179 00:09:38.440 --> 00:09:41.320 you know, I know I've been quiet about this, but 180 00:09:41.399 --> 00:09:46.360 I'm talking now, yes, versus I know that I've been 181 00:09:46.440 --> 00:09:50.120 quiet about this. Let me tell you why. Right. 182 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:51.080 That's a huge one. 183 00:09:51.159 --> 00:09:53.879 Yes, Yeah, like like that that that's the big difference. 184 00:09:53.919 --> 00:09:56.759 There is kind of like if you're going to then 185 00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:00.000 use your platform to speak up and talk about it 186 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:03.799 and share it, you also then owe a team the 187 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:07.279 reason it's taken this long or why you haven't said anything, 188 00:10:07.879 --> 00:10:10.840 And that's going to be sometimes really hard to do 189 00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:14.080 because to your point, like having to admit, you know, 190 00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:17.480 maybe that a decision was made that has not had 191 00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:20.519 the impact that we thought it would have. Maybe trying 192 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:24.159 to admit that a mistake was made, maybe having to 193 00:10:24.200 --> 00:10:27.440 own the fact of saying, like you were struggling with 194 00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:29.159 what do you say and what do you want to 195 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:32.960 share with the team like that, you know that part 196 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:38.039 of explaining requires also why in this scenario, why it 197 00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:41.799 took so long to say something? And it's okay to 198 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:45.000 say I made this decision. This is a decision that 199 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:47.679 is not changing. There are a lot of factors into 200 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:50.399 why this decision had to be made, and here are 201 00:10:50.440 --> 00:10:54.200 a couple of them. Right, And and while at the 202 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:56.639 core of a decision like this it might not even 203 00:10:56.720 --> 00:11:02.440 align with what I think or what I believe is 204 00:11:02.519 --> 00:11:04.399 the right thing to do or the thing that we 205 00:11:04.440 --> 00:11:07.240 should have done, it is something that we have to do, 206 00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:11.039 you know what I mean? Like, like, it's as a leaders, 207 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:13.279 it's okay to also do that. I think that's a 208 00:11:13.399 --> 00:11:16.120 major part of it. I was having a conversation a 209 00:11:16.120 --> 00:11:20.919 couple of weeks ago around that, around change and uncertainty, 210 00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:23.840 and you know, somebody asked me a question. They're like, well, 211 00:11:23.879 --> 00:11:25.840 what happens if the leader is uncertain? What happens if 212 00:11:25.960 --> 00:11:27.320 leaders like, well, I don't know what's going to happen 213 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:29.399 to me in this scenario. And I was like, then 214 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:32.480 you say that out loud, right. I think it's important 215 00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:36.480 for a team to see their leader also say I 216 00:11:36.519 --> 00:11:38.720 also understand how you feel because I feel the same way. 217 00:11:39.320 --> 00:11:41.840 I have a responsibility as your leader to make sure 218 00:11:41.840 --> 00:11:43.440 that we could do our best to work through this 219 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:45.639 and figure this out. I have responsibility as your leader 220 00:11:46.320 --> 00:11:48.399 to have to lead in times when it is tough 221 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:53.080 and when I'm uncertain, but I also understand, and I 222 00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:55.279 you know, I'm going to share with you as much 223 00:11:55.320 --> 00:11:57.600 as I can, and there may be times when I'm 224 00:11:57.600 --> 00:11:59.600 going to tell you I can't share anything right now 225 00:12:00.039 --> 00:12:01.639 because a part of me being a leader means I 226 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:05.360 also have a larger responsibility to the organization to make 227 00:12:05.399 --> 00:12:07.000 sure that we are doing the things that we need 228 00:12:07.039 --> 00:12:09.879 to do. But I will tell you that to your face, 229 00:12:10.279 --> 00:12:12.120 and I won't say something like I don't know or 230 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:14.240 I'm not sure, when in fact I do know or 231 00:12:14.279 --> 00:12:16.919 I am sure. And I think that those are the 232 00:12:16.919 --> 00:12:19.799 things that if you're going to send out any type 233 00:12:19.799 --> 00:12:24.360 of communication or have any conversation in those times, you've 234 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:28.559 got to really be clear about where you stand, what's 235 00:12:28.600 --> 00:12:33.080 going on and why maybe in this scenario, why was 236 00:12:33.159 --> 00:12:37.240 there enough time to feel like your team is saying, well, 237 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:39.960 nobody is saying anything. You have to address that as well, right. 238 00:12:39.919 --> 00:12:42.360 For sure, because you know, if you think about, you know, 239 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:48.279 the the issues that this organization is experiencing, a lot 240 00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:53.159 of them might be not within their control now, but 241 00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:55.720 it doesn't mean they never were. And I think a 242 00:12:55.759 --> 00:12:59.559 lot of times organizations will look at, you know, just 243 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:05.879 the most recent moments to kind of relieve themselves of responsibility. Right. 244 00:13:06.200 --> 00:13:09.960 It's like if you procrastinate on. 245 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:15.679 Getting your homework done until you know, an hour before 246 00:13:15.720 --> 00:13:17.759 you go to school the next morning, and then you 247 00:13:17.799 --> 00:13:19.639 finally sit down to do it and the power goes 248 00:13:19.679 --> 00:13:21.679 out and you have no internet. You don't get to 249 00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:24.559 say to the teacher, I tried to get my homework done, 250 00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:26.559 but the internet was out, And that's what people do. 251 00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:30.279 That's essentially the same thing. It's saying that, yes, I 252 00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:35.600 made many decisions in leading up to this that would 253 00:13:35.639 --> 00:13:39.240 put this blame on me, but now in these final moments, 254 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:42.200 something that was truly out of my control is happening, 255 00:13:42.399 --> 00:13:44.559 which might be true. 256 00:13:44.279 --> 00:13:46.320 But to expect someone. 257 00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:50.080 To believe that that alleviates you of responsibility, it is 258 00:13:50.080 --> 00:13:52.639 almost patronizing to the person you're talking to. And I 259 00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:54.879 think that's one of the reasons why this email you 260 00:13:54.919 --> 00:14:00.279 know lands incorrectly is because the lack of you know, 261 00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:02.960 kind of saying that these things are happening to us, 262 00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:06.600 that these are the issues we're dealing with to people 263 00:14:06.720 --> 00:14:10.879 without saying these are the decisions that we've made that 264 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:13.799 may have exacerbated the issue or contributed to the problem 265 00:14:14.080 --> 00:14:16.440 or started this out down the wrong path, but why 266 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:18.360 we thought they were the right decisions at the moment, 267 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:20.559 you know, like this is why why we did it, 268 00:14:20.600 --> 00:14:22.600 and and it turned out to be the wrong the 269 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:26.600 wrong move or whatever that is. But addressing that openly 270 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:32.000 is what leads people to, you know, not feel patronized, 271 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:34.559 because if you don't address it outright and you just 272 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:37.120 say this kind of like we're trying to, you know, 273 00:14:37.240 --> 00:14:39.399 let you know that there's there's a lot going on 274 00:14:39.480 --> 00:14:41.679 here that we have no control over and that we 275 00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:43.639 just have to kind of get through this together. The 276 00:14:44.759 --> 00:14:48.840 people reading that who know the organization and who know 277 00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:51.720 that these things are happening and going on, they are 278 00:14:51.759 --> 00:14:54.440 telling their own story in their mind. They're creating their 279 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:57.799 own narrative about why these decisions were made to begin with, 280 00:14:58.279 --> 00:15:02.840 and and that hums off as as feeling patronized, Like 281 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:04.919 if a company, if a leader said that to me, 282 00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:09.200 I would think, a they don't trust me enough to 283 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:12.919 tell me what's really going on, or they think that 284 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:17.200 I am that I'm that I won't react in a 285 00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:22.200 way that is appropriate for if I have all the information, 286 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:24.440 almost like I'm not mature enough to be able to 287 00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:26.679 handle all the information. So they're going to dial it 288 00:15:26.759 --> 00:15:29.600 back and give me the the the kid version of 289 00:15:29.639 --> 00:15:31.799 it as opposed to the adult version of it. And 290 00:15:32.120 --> 00:15:34.320 if you if you think about it, you know, most 291 00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:37.480 of the employees at this organization are adults, or most 292 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:40.360 of the employees that most organizations are adults, and you 293 00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:42.679 need to speak to them that way because it will 294 00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:45.799 hurt your relationship with them more if you try to, 295 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:49.440 you know, dumb it down in the you know, if 296 00:15:49.480 --> 00:15:51.320 the goal is to try to you know, make them 297 00:15:51.399 --> 00:15:53.080 go to bed happy that night by telling them a 298 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:55.840 bedtime story. You know, sometimes if they can see right 299 00:15:55.840 --> 00:15:58.679 through the bedtime story, you're going to cause more damage 300 00:15:58.440 --> 00:16:00.879 than you would buy. By the by the by the 301 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:02.159 sending the email to begin. 302 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:04.080 With, absolutely and with that it brings us to this 303 00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:05.200 episode is one minute hack. 304 00:16:05.320 --> 00:16:07.240 But first a few words more sponsors. 305 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:09.399 All right for this episode one minute hackers or want 306 00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:11.799 you to do if you are a leader and you 307 00:16:12.039 --> 00:16:16.639 are charged with, you know, giving a speech or an 308 00:16:16.679 --> 00:16:21.080 email to a team of people to address any issues 309 00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:23.639 that are happening overall and not with an individual person 310 00:16:23.960 --> 00:16:27.120 about their issues, but with overall you know, company or 311 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:28.759 team issues that are that are going on. 312 00:16:29.399 --> 00:16:30.320 Understand a few things. 313 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:34.840 One, saying something is not always better than saying nothing. 314 00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:38.480 If you are not very clear on the reasons and 315 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:40.879 the purpose for what you're saying, why you're saying and 316 00:16:40.919 --> 00:16:43.639 so you know, don't don't just jump at saying something 317 00:16:43.679 --> 00:16:45.240 because you think something has to be said. 318 00:16:45.519 --> 00:16:47.320 Be very purposeful in what you. 319 00:16:47.320 --> 00:16:50.159 Are saying, even if it means that it takes longer 320 00:16:50.200 --> 00:16:52.440 to deliver that message because you're trying to make sure 321 00:16:52.440 --> 00:16:56.600 that it gets done right. Secondly, when you can't deliver 322 00:16:56.679 --> 00:17:00.440 a message right away as soon as it is absolutely 323 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:03.519 possible to, there are reasons why, and and some of 324 00:17:03.559 --> 00:17:05.839 those reasons might just be that you didn't know how 325 00:17:05.880 --> 00:17:07.880 to you didn't know how to address this in the 326 00:17:07.880 --> 00:17:11.640 correct way, or you were lacking information, whatever it is. 327 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:15.480 Be transparent about the reasons why you had to delay 328 00:17:15.480 --> 00:17:18.039 the communication or why you weren't able to speak to 329 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:20.480 that person or that team right away, and be honest 330 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:23.359 about it. You can't say, you know, there were things 331 00:17:23.400 --> 00:17:24.920 going on that we had to deal with, the wa 332 00:17:24.920 --> 00:17:27.880 had to get through. That's vague, that's that's ambiguous. Be 333 00:17:28.079 --> 00:17:32.799 very specific and clear and transparent about the reasons why 334 00:17:32.839 --> 00:17:36.240 there was a delay in that communication. Don't don't try 335 00:17:36.279 --> 00:17:42.920 to alleviate blame on yourself by by framing the verbiage 336 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:45.839 in a way that says that things were happening to 337 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:48.279 you that you had no control over. Frame it in 338 00:17:48.319 --> 00:17:51.119 a way that takes ownership of the process. Frame it 339 00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:54.119 a way that says, I made the decision to delay 340 00:17:54.119 --> 00:17:56.960 this communication because I didn't have this information yet, or 341 00:17:57.000 --> 00:17:59.200 because this had to happen first, or because I had 342 00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:01.039 to write it and I was trying to write it 343 00:18:01.079 --> 00:18:02.440 and I couldn't figure out a way to write it 344 00:18:02.440 --> 00:18:05.359 in a way that did a service to the hard 345 00:18:05.359 --> 00:18:08.359 work that you as a team are doing while also 346 00:18:08.440 --> 00:18:11.079 being transparent and truthful with you. And I didn't want 347 00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:13.200 to say anything to you that that was not true 348 00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:16.240 or not transparent, like there are ways to do this 349 00:18:16.599 --> 00:18:20.279 that will allow people to know that they're not being 350 00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:23.480 kind of spoon fed something in order to placate them, 351 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:25.960 but rather than being treated like adults, and they're being 352 00:18:25.960 --> 00:18:29.440 given the correct information and then you're asking them to 353 00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:32.640 kind of work through this with you. Do this in 354 00:18:32.680 --> 00:18:36.079 this way, even if it means again taking longer, and 355 00:18:36.359 --> 00:18:39.400 you will find more effective communication when you talk to 356 00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:42.480 your team. Have other people read it, right, write something, 357 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:44.880 have a peer read it, Have you know a coworker 358 00:18:44.920 --> 00:18:46.480 read it. Has somebody go over it and look at 359 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:48.759 it with you through the lens of if this were 360 00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:51.119 being given to you, how would this make you feel? 361 00:18:51.319 --> 00:18:54.200 It's not just about the information. Feeling is important here 362 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:57.519 and emotional reaction is important here. So asking a person 363 00:18:57.640 --> 00:19:01.400 how receiving this email would make them feel, even if 364 00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:03.599 they can't, you know, kind of articulate it in a 365 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:05.799 way that that gives specific examples. 366 00:19:05.960 --> 00:19:07.440 But if they just say, yeah, I read this and. 367 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:10.640 I feel like, eh, I yeah, whatever I feel. 368 00:19:10.839 --> 00:19:12.279 Would you feel more confident? Not really? 369 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:14.400 Not really okay, then there's a problem. Go back to 370 00:19:14.440 --> 00:19:16.920 the drawing board and rewrite it. That feeling is important, 371 00:19:16.920 --> 00:19:19.119 because that's what you're trying to alleviate with the communication 372 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:19.680 to begin with. 373 00:19:19.799 --> 00:19:22.519 Yeah, I think you're spot on if you're gonna I think, 374 00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:25.279 if you're gonna send something that is meant to be 375 00:19:25.839 --> 00:19:30.839 heartfelt in a way, or to express gratitude, or to 376 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:36.359 recognize maybe some you know, some some things that are 377 00:19:36.680 --> 00:19:40.839 uncertain or that type of thing, it has to read 378 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:43.920 as if it's authentic, And I think that you know, 379 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:47.839 many times, like I think that the same person, let's 380 00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:51.039 just say, in this scenario, the same person who was 381 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:56.079 behind this communication. And at you know, higher levels of 382 00:19:56.319 --> 00:19:58.720 larger organizations, you're always going to have people that are 383 00:19:58.720 --> 00:20:00.960 going to either help to to help to write something 384 00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:04.279 like that, or approve something like that, or make sure 385 00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:07.160 like that's gonna happen. Right, But I believe that the 386 00:20:07.240 --> 00:20:10.880 same person that was behind an email like this, if 387 00:20:10.920 --> 00:20:12.839 given the chance to go in front of a team 388 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:15.839 in like a town hall or talk about it, I 389 00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:19.440 think the message could be very very different. Yeah, because 390 00:20:19.480 --> 00:20:23.839 I think it would be less protected is in regards 391 00:20:23.839 --> 00:20:25.519 to like what is shared and how you want to 392 00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:27.680 share things in writing, and I think it would be 393 00:20:27.799 --> 00:20:32.559 more authentic to how that person feels about the moment 394 00:20:32.599 --> 00:20:35.039 in what's going on. And I think that to your point, 395 00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:36.599 and it has a big part of it when it 396 00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:42.359 comes across as authentic and connected and relevant and real 397 00:20:42.440 --> 00:20:45.640 to what's actually going on. So again, I think that 398 00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:49.359 there's always times like this where you're gonna have to 399 00:20:49.400 --> 00:20:53.359 address a team about something that's happening. But your confidence 400 00:20:53.559 --> 00:21:00.799 and being clear about why you're sharing and what we're 401 00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:03.359