Have you ever found yourself saying or asking, “my people should know this” or “why don’t they get it?” Maybe this should be our cue as leaders to provide more clarity. Without
written and agreed upon standards or expectations, we can’t just assume our people will fall in line and do what we would like them to do.
A pastor friend of mine struggling with this finally blurted out in a meeting, “OK then, if it’s not written down, it doesn’t exist!” What a great idea! How many disagreements have I fostered thinking I was right because I thought I had already verbally communicated something? The other side of that is – what did the person with whom I had spoken understand?
From another angle, what does that say about our leadership when we place blame on the people we lead instead of owning the murkiness or un-clarity ourselves? We are unintentionally handing away our leadership because we misplace responsibility with our blame. The obligation is ours as leaders if we discover our team is not clear.
I remember witnessing this dynamic in meetings at North Point with Andy Stanley. At times, he would come into a service programming meeting frustrated saying, “they just aren’t getting it!” usually talking about the vision leaking in the early days. He would then pause, take a moment and say, “it’s on me, I need to figure out another way to communicate this again.” That was a great example of leadership – owning the responsibility of clear communication.
One simple solution that I’ve seen remedy this irritation, and assure everybody is on the same page going the same direction, is to first, have a page. Write down your expectations or better yet, work with your team. Collaboratively create a one-pager with bullet points or a simple playbook outlining the who, what and how of the task at hand. Invite pushback and discussion to ignite weigh-in and ultimately buy-in. This will help ensure that everybody is aligned and unified around your organization’s common goals and practices.
When you find yourself once again frustrated because people around you “should know or do better”:
• Pause
• Take ownership, and
• Take the time as a leader to bring clarity by collaboratively documenting your wins and how you want to get there as a team.
Eradicate confusion, blame, unproductive behavior and meetings after the meeting.