Leadership / Employee Engagement / Delegation / Communication

A Hugely Powerful Tool for Communication

Powerful but Ridiculously Simple!

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower gives the order of the day, “Full victory, nothing less” to paratroopers somewhere in England just before they board their planes to take part in the first assault of the invasion of France. June 6, 1944. No known copyright restrictions. Picture from the National Archives.

Leaders. Miscommunication. They seem almost inextricably linked at the hip. Effective leadership starts with successful communication. You simply cannot lead others if you cannot adequately share your thoughts and ideas with them.

Yet we experience hiccups, foul-ups, and screw-ups from someone not understanding who, what, where, why, or how. Sometimes even relatively simple stuff goes awry because two people didn’t understand one another. It doesn’t have to be this way.

As a leader, it’s imperative for you to ensure the task is understood, supervised, and accomplished (West Point Leadership Principle #9). Here’s a simple method I learned and used during my 22 years of active-duty in the Army. There’s nothing “Army” about it — it’s perfectly suitable for any domain. I even use it with my kids!

Getting things done right the first time is better for everyone. Having someone do something over is frustrating for both you and them. I hate redoing work, especially if I could have done it right the first time. But if that mutual understanding isn’t there, I won’t get it right the first time.