Leadership / Communication / Supervision / Delegation
The Circle of Communication
Until you complete the circle, you don’t know it’s done.
Everyone loves a sequel, right? Hmmm, maybe not, but you’ll like this one. I wrote about how a tool called the backbrief is immensely powerful for leaders in late January.
I’ve used backbriefs for decades, since the ’90s, yet something was tugging at my brain after I wrote that article. I felt something was missing and it took a while for my little pea-brain to sort it out.
The backbrief is highly effective, especially with trusted employees. But how about when you don’t have a trusted employee? Remember, trust comes in two forms: character and capability.
In its simplest terms, character trust is when you believe the person is telling the truth and won’t steal. Capability trust is what you have when the employee has the knowledge, skills, and ability to do the work. You can absolutely have one without the other. If you don’t have either, then you need a new employee or very close supervision.
I broached the topic of trust in an article on Performance Feedback in 2021. Just re-read that and now I’m thinking I may need to elaborate a little more on trust. But not today.
