Communication is GREAT, but there is one thing it CAN’T fix

Communication is GREAT, but there is one thing it CAN’T fix.

And it’s something YOU are probably guilty of...


And I know it is because it’s something we’re ALL guilty of. Most especially me. I’m human too, so I get it.

Let me explain.

For much of my day, I’m basically a communication professional.

I sit quietly and patiently listen to the aspirations of our clients, watching for the struggles that are holding them back, mirroring back what I hear, and turning those aspirations into internal and external messages and media to overcome the struggles. That’s much of my work in a nutshell. And I love it! And I love our clients, because they are good people with good aspirations that the world needs.

Leaders typically know what they want to see, but they often struggle to translate it into effective and persuasive communication. And that's one of the ways we help them.

Usually this works well. We talk, and then I know what to go and work on.

But, and actually I’m finding this more and more, my communication abilities CAN'T fix everything. Because there is one thing I cannot do for the leaders that I serve. And often I hit a crossroads.

Because as a leader, there is one act you can NEVER EVER outsource. That act is...

MAKING DECISIONS.

Yes. Ultimately, that is the leader’s job.

The beauty of improving communication is that it ALWAYS, INEVITABLY, 100% OF THE TIME finds the points where decisions NEED to be made.

Because communication is a leadership barometer.

So those are the assignments I tend to give.

“Well, we have this video, but I need you to tell me whether we can use it.”

“What is the date of this event? Have all the key people signed off on it?”

“If we create a new email address for this employee it will conflict with the way this system was set up over here. How should we proceed?”

What do you want to do? What do you want to do? What do you want to do?

What. Want. Do. YOU.

You’re the leader, so you need to decide. I can’t do it for you.

I once heard some commentary I found helpful. It was speculation about the life of people like Elon Musk. He and others like him got to where they are because of their decisions. And at that level EVERYTHING that crosses your desk is a crisis. If it wasn’t, it would have been dealt with farther down the hierarchy. And at that level you need to be SWIFT and DECISIVE.

So, reflect on that. What decisions are you hesitating to make? What decisions are you outsourcing to people who shouldn’t make them?

That last one is a HUGE problem I see almost everywhere, BTW. Often leaders simply avoid decisions and unintentionally force others to make them. I call it "leadership by abdication". Always tempting, never EVER effective.

How is this weakening your organization?

Remember, decision making is the one thing you can NEVER completely outsource, and your current operation is a reflection of how well you understand this principle.