Communicate and Motivate (Part V)
We enter Part V of our six part series of “Communicate and Motivate” which will help you to share thoughts, feelings and rationale. Part I focuses on some handy interaction guidelines to help you in meetings. Parts II through VI focus on the five Key Principles of good communication which include:
As a leader, you have significant skills, information, and experience that can help other people and your entire organization when used properly. In learning to share your thoughts, feelings and rationale, you begin with rationale, the why things are the way they are. When people know why something was done, it helps them understand the action or decision. Make sure to explain why but use your judgement. Oftentimes the information cannot be shared but if it will benefit the group or person involved and not compromise other individuals or insider trading (in the case of a public company) then by all means provide the rationale.
Facts are great for discussion and become the basis for decisions and solutions. But people often need to know more than the facts and they look to you for your insights. Sharing your thoughts can be more difficult than rationale but thoughts contain your opinions, advice and ideas and are much more personal. This opens the discussion to an entirely new level, one where people know how your thinking helped the decision, not just the facts.
Moving along in the meeting from rationale to thoughts comes feelings, which is the most powerful way to communicate either positively or negatively. When sharing your feelings, match the feelings to the issue and don’t overdo it. Communicate other people’s emotions as well to help paint the whole picture. Finally, be true to yourself even if your feelings are different than others. This may help shed new light for others to understand.
The more you can share your thoughts and feelings, the more trusted people will feel you are and the more they’ll believe in the direction. Take the time, you’ll see it’s worth it.
Trackbacks