NO NEWS IS BAD NEWS - Leadership Requires Communication!

NO NEWS IS BAD NEWS

In Silence, People Tend To Think The Worst

In Management And Leadership, Frequent Communication Is Essential

During prolonged periods of silence, people are left to wonder; that wondering leads to visualization of negative possibilities and potentials (generally speaking, and in accord with the basic insecurities of Human Beings). The longer and more absolute the silence, the more these negative thoughts tend to propagate. If you are a leader, manager or commander and you are silent, any one or several of the following assumptions will likely be made regarding your lack of communication – ironically, your lack of communication speaks volumes:

~ You are overwhelmed by your workload, and you are not competent to handle the enormous responsibilities of leadership;

~ You are either ignoring your responsibilities and/or are searching for another role to play in another organization;

~ You have received devastatingly negative news that you are afraid to confront or announce;

~ You are disappointed in the work being performed by your subordinates, and you are either too disgusted with them to communicate with them or you are passively/aggressively punishing those guilty parties by depriving them of your attention;

~ You have lost your impetus and momentum as a driver, and are not accomplishing anything – therefore, you've nothing about which to converse.

Any of the above suppositions, all of which are common in cases of a lack of top-down communication, are bad for your personal brand, effectiveness, and relationship with your troops (or employees). You will be rendered less of a standard-bearer and more of a bag of ballast – and those who report to you will think 1) that the ship may be sinking on your watch, or 2) that they are failing you significantly enough to be rendered unworthy of your attention.

Communication, powerful and frequent, is one of the hallmarks of a truly good leader. Those whom you are charged with the responsibility of leading must know your status as well as their own in order for the enterprise not to fall prey to the ever-disabling rumor mill. Good leadership requires good communication skills as well as charisma and all of the other personality and management-style attributes I've discussed so many times before in other posts and articles.

If you need a quick reminder (in the style of the late lawyer Johnny Cochran), “If you don't converse, things will get worse.”

Whether the news is good or bad – don't ever let your troops, employees or teammates think that you are a cagey introvert (although you may well be one) or an escapist. Intensely introspective, quiet personalities may make for fine actuaries, but they generally make for poor leaders.

Thank you, as always, for reading me. - Douglas Castle

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