Coffee

Last week we talked about the LRI and the MRI. That post was prompted by a particluar event. Recently, I was about to start a “sacred hour” with a talented leader I have worked with for quite some time. She texted me: “I will be on in a minute. Grabbing a cup of coffee.”  I texted back. “Priorities!” In a panic, she texted back, “I am sorry. Was that offensive?”

Our conversation had come off the rails before it even began…

There are really only two problems at the core of the dysfunction of most organizations.

Those that work regularly with me know that I believe there are really only two problems at the core of the dysfunction of most organizations. As I work with leaders across the country, I continually look for problems beyond these two—I have even asked the leaders to help me find them. Despite our best efforts, it always comes back to these two problems. There have even been occasions where someone has come to me convinced that they have finally found the third problem only for us both to discover it really is just a variant or product of one of these two.

So, what are these two problems?

Ambiguity and distrust.

There is a simple truth in organizations: the world moves at the speed of trust. High speed? High trust. Low speed? It’s because of low trust. No speed? You get the picture. So it seems the most valuable thing we can do is build trust. Why can’t we achieve consistent trust?

Ambiguity. We can try as hard as we can to build trust, make it a focus and a priority and yet still have problems. Ambiguity leads to distrust. In the face of ambiguity, we will invariably take the least generous assessment of the situation. (See last week's post).

Why can’t we achieve consistent trust? Ambiguity.

Whenever there is ambiguity, we must interpret (guess). Our default is to always interpret the worst--the LRI. This is why ambiguity leads to distrust and slows our progess. My boss walks past my door four mornings in a row and does not say hi. I assume she is mad at me. I probably get mad at her in return. On Friday she says she was really buried at work and finally got caught up by being singluarly focused in the mornings without interruption. There was ambiguity, it led to distrust because I took the LRI.

Transformative leaders know they must eliminate the ambiguity that requires interpretation and leads to the LRI. This is why text and e-mail are often poor vehicles for important messages. We cannot read tone. The text, “Did you leave that on my desk?” can be a simple question or a heated accusation. That ambiguity can be crippling.

So when I texted, “Priorities!” I assumed she knew that, as a coffee addict myself, I would never complain about someone grabbing a cup of coffee (I am drinking my 7th cup of the day--thankfully decaf--as I type this). Instead, she feared she had offended me by suggesting we were not going to start at the top of the hour. You would be hard pressed to find two people who trusted each other more than the two of us and yet that ambiguity struck fear into both of us.

If we have to worry about the impact of ambiguity between two people with years of shared effort and high trust, imagine how the people two or three levels below you must feel. Are you being crystal clear in your communications? Are you relying on e-mail or text for important messages better delivered by phone or zoom or in person? Does your hastily written communication introduce ambiguity or eliminate it?

Text and e-mail are often poor vehicles for important messages.

Ambiguity, when not rooted out, will lead to distrust. The world moves at the speed of trust. Think about that.

How can you be more clear? Take an extra minute to clarify the ambiguity in your email. Better yet--don't send it. Walk down the hall and speak directly. Take time to answer questions in your next meeting. Make certain everyone understands the "why" as well as the "how." Look for ambiguity constantly--especially when experiencing trust issues. Clarity leads to trust.

So to clear up any ambiguity and for the record: with me, it's always a good time for coffee. Like the old saying goes, "It's 6AM somewhere..."