Pontificating is for the pope - Learning to be succinct
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A few weeks ago my good friend Frank told me he’s noticed that I sometimes belabor a point. Talk about frank feedback! Okay, his name isn’t really Frank but I’m a dad and it’s my responsibility to make bad puns whenever I can.
At first I felt a bit unsettled. I knew immediately what he was talking about. I do take my time explaining certain things. But I try to only do that with key topics. Sometimes it’s just vital that people understand what I’m trying to get across.
The more I thought about it though, the more I realized just how right he was. His constructive criticism began to act as a forcing function and I became more aware of the drawbacks of my over communication.
When I use 10 minutes to say what I could have said in 5, I lose some people. People checking out mentally is bad enough, but rambling also leaves less time and space for questions and discussion.
Being a long winded leader has second order consequences too. It fosters a team culture where only what the leader says matters. All of this is the opposite outcome of what I want.
I’m now on a journey of trying to communicate more succinctly. In meetings, but also one on one conversations. I’m not the pope, so perhaps I can be a more effective leader by cutting back my pontification.
The more I thought about it though, the more I realized just how right he was. His constructive criticism began to act as a forcing function and I became more aware of the drawbacks of my over communication.
When I use 10 minutes to say what I could have said in 5, I lose some people. People checking out mentally is bad enough, but rambling also leaves less time and space for questions and discussion.
Being a long winded leader has second order consequences too. It fosters a team culture where only what the leader says matters. All of this is the opposite outcome of what I want.
I’m now on a journey of trying to communicate more succinctly. In meetings, but also one on one conversations. I’m not the pope, so perhaps I can be a more effective leader by cutting back my pontification.