You would think that I would know better. It’s my profession, I am a communicator. But, I did it again. In an attempt to create a bit of excitement and anticipation, I instead created chaos.Here is what happened: We may have an opportunity to allow one of our sites to experience an upgrade in facilities. This seems like a very benign event that everyone should look forward to experiencing. That is, until I sent a cryptic email telling our team to be on the look out for some exciting newscoming their way. Thus started the guessing, gossip and rumor train.Before I knew it, our team had become the poster child for "fake news". And it was all because of my poor effort at generating a bit of fun.Once I realized my mistake, I communicated the facts as clearly and simply as possible.
As leaders, there is no substitute for basic clear communication.Our team thrives when we are transparent with our data, knowledge and plans.What may seem like over-communication to us can feel like clarity to those we lead. When there is uncertainty, lack of clarity or cryptic information, the result will always be chaos and confusion.
I have learned my lesson (at least for the moment). Choose to over communicate with clarity and you will make a difference.
- Larry
Fake News
