As shared in last week’s Tidbit, I recently attended a replay of Leadercast. I’ve been to several of these annual events and aways look forward to the inspirational speakers. During the mid-morning break, I couldn’t help but overhear a woman a few feet away wondering aloud why she was there. She seemed to be questioning those seated nearby.
What’s a Leadercast? What am I supposed to do here?
Who are these people? I’ve never heard of half of these speakers!
I’ve got so much work to do; this is wasting my time!
I was annoyed at first. If she didn’t know what Leadercast was, why didn’t she research it ahead of time? Why was she so oblivious to such a great opportunity? Tickets are expensive; how could she not appreciate this?
I thought about it again a few days later, from a different perspective. Clearly, someone else bought the ticket and sent this woman to Leadercast.
Why didn’t her sponsor explain what it was all about? Didn’t someone explain why she was being sent to the event or what her takeaways might be? Why was she being asked to give up a day at the office and potentially fall a little behind in her work?
Communication, communication, communication!
How many times do leaders provide information, assign work, or offer opportunity without properly explaining it? How many times do people recieve information, assignments or opportunities without really understanding it?
Don’t let this happen to you!
Leaders, provide specific and adequate information and, critically important, always check for understanding. Followers, ask clarifying questions. Be sure that you understand the goal at hand.
Communication is successful only when both parties understand each other.
Clearly, there was a lack of communication in the above scenario. As a result, the attendee did not enjoy herself and was not going to reap the benefits of the experience. The person who gave her this opportunity was not going to achieve the goal for doing so. A little more communication by both of them would have made a big difference for both of them.
