HRO & Corona 1 Small Thing - Clearly Communicating

We have a lot working against us right now. 

 Your 2, 3, 4 weeks into a radical transformation operations, complete re-organization of how and where. Your infrastructure's stable, but, completely consumed by disruptions.

So for that reason, 

One thing, one seemingly small thing that exhausted leaders can do today is to focus on being clear and very definitively specific when communicating plans, expectations, and changes. Fatigue effects our performance especially our speech and listening capacity.  It’s important to remind yourself that you are exhausted, remind yourself that you have to think differently about how you communicate right now

Preoccupation with Failure: Recognizes that big threats usually start as small problems. 

Big threats are consequence of not enough words, so use clear speech, don’t start rapid firing directives,  slow down, take a breath, organize your thoughts.  Speak in full sentences. Outline the steps. Give context. Define the measure or clarify the boundaries. 

Take the time to communicate precisely to the stressed and fatigued people around you. Look to simply the solutions do not oversimplify the threat. 

Right now, it’s a mistake to believe that anything is obvious! Consider it your role right now to communicate the obvious. Do not assume that everyone knows what you know. Remember, we all have our own mental contexts and life experiences that complicate our ability to understand each other in low stress states. 

Now in high stress states, we need to go to the next level when communicating. The only way to ensure that the meaning of your message is understood, is to clearly define the specifics.  Organize information in simple steps and plain sentences.  

More can always be done to improve the function of an organization in real time. Consider, essential employees report exposure. But, what does expose mean? My definitions of exposure, not yours? Does exposure mean that you spent 15 or more minutes within a 6’ range of someone that is waiting for a test, has tested positive or is hospitalized? 

Use whatever definitions that you trust, but by defining the specifics you are accomplishing four goals: 

One: Minimizing a threat to your workforce

Two:  Protect scarce resources 

Three:  educating your working culture by offering one more clear safety standard for them to observe. 

Four: By defining the ask and tasks in detail, you are more likely to realize the  outcomes you have defined. 

 

Now isn’t the time to be vague