Being straightforward and clear seem like easy concepts.
But just because something isn’t complicated doesn’t mean it’s easy. Most managers/leaders could use some help in the clarity and directness department.
Let’s start with an audit of your clarity and directness. Then, we’ll look at ways to amp up your management effectiveness and overall communication skills.
- Conduct a CLARITY Audit—and Challenge Your Results: To determine how clear you are, give yourself a score from 1-10. A 1 is “not at all” and 10 is “extremely.” Consider things like:
- “When I delegate, how clearly do I set expectations?
- “When I address people issues, how straightforward am I or do I avoid sensitive subjects?
- “When I share the big picture with my team, how clearly do I communicate tasks and timelines?”
Once you’ve given yourself an accurate score, let’s look at your “directness.”
2. Conduct a DIRECTNESS Audit—and Review Your Most Challenging Areas. Using the same scale (1-10), how direct are you?
Consider things like:
- Do I get to the point in communications or tend to build up a “story” before getting to the point?
- How often am I direct or do I shy away from saying it like it is?
- When giving direction, do I say “Would you please consider…” or “I’d like your opinion by…”
Once you’ve identified a score for clarity and one for directness, consider what you can do to increase each by one number. What would it take for you to be more clear or more direct? If you are direct (rating yourself a 10), consider if you can be clearer and avoid over-relying on your directness. If you are a “10” on clarity, consider adding more directness to get your point across more effectively. We’ll explore the concept of “front-loading” next.
These action steps will help you identify how to expand your scores:
Design an Action Plan Based On:
Your Clarity Score: Look critically at your completed clarity audit. If you scored a 10 on any item, ask a team member or your boss to verify your ranking. Few leaders are clear about what they want, expect, or desire, making it tough to achieve a perfect ranking. If you are positive your 10 is accurate, good for you! You’ll be able to teach others how to achieve such outstanding results. For any score below 10, list one step for improvement. For example, you may be clear when delegating tasks, but perhaps you need to set measurable deadlines. Or maybe you clearly communicate the big picture, but you fail to outline precisely how your team can move the vision forward. For each score under 10, commit to taking one small action step to up your clarity score this month.
Your Directness Score: After identifying opportunities to be more direct, map out an action plan. For example, if you find it hard to be direct about performance issues, practice addressing core issues at the start of meetings. If an employee consistently makes excuses for missing deadlines, say, “The last three times I asked for a specific result at an agreed-upon time, you didn’t follow through.” When you use supporting facts, it is easier to be direct. For each key area, list a strategy to improve your management/leadership skills. If you are just warming up to being more direct, start by applying directness strategies to positive situations. For example, offer unsolicited positive feedback when someone delivers the goods. If you tend to be too direct (bordering on blunt), practice starting a conversation with an open-ended question. Begin sentences with “what,” “when,” “where,” or “how” to avoid leading the conversation. Asking “How can I help you be more effective?” is preferable to “Here is what you are doing wrong.”
It may take time to fine-tune these skills, but the more you practice, the more effective you will be. Remember…
