Disconnect Principle - A Conversation with Ann Latham

For this episode we had the opportunity to chat again with the Queen of Clarity, Ann Latham. 

The discussion was about her newest book, The Disconnect Principle. 

A continuous struggle in business communication is giving and receiving feedback well. While formulas focusing on behavior and impact may help to a certain degree, we are still left uncomfortable giving feedback, tend to procrastinate or sugarcoat our feedback until the message and meaning are lost. 

The disconnect principle is as simple as it is powerful: 

“If someone doesn’t do as you expected, all you know for sure is that he or she didn’t do as you expected. Period. There is a disconnect between what you expected and what happened.” 

We are too quick to assume we know the cause of the disconnect: He’s not committed, she’s not reliable, he’s inconsiderate, she needs more training…. and endless speculation that ends the real communication, and thwarts the process of realignment.  

Ann shares, the best response to a disconnect is “I think we have a disconnect.” Our assumptions, judgments and speculation allow our disclarity to appear as clarity. We claim to know, therefore disrupting discovery into what truly is going on and how we can work together to prevent disconnect in the future. 

The Disconnect Principle is something we can begin to practice today, as well as something we can build on individually, in our teams and throughout the culture to grow in building better relationships and producing better results. 

Listen to this episode as Ann shares some people-centered, collaborative problem-solving insights from her new book.

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