In collecting endorsements for the cover of my upcoming book, The Power of Clarity, I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon.
“A critical book for every leader! Learn to give your teams, employees and peers, the clear communication they need to be their most effective and productive in The Power of Clarity.“
My last edits for The Power of Clarity: Unleash the True Potential of Workplace Productivity, Confidence, and Empowerment (Bloomsbury Publishing, July 2021) are in! I’m so glad! And thrilled!
Everyone knows clear roles and responsibilities are important, right? That’s why we write job descriptions. That’s why managers work so hard to set expectations. That’s why smart employees make an effort to clarify those expectations. Clear roles and responsibilities matter! Unfortunately, we aren’t doing enough. These techniques simply aren’t adequate.
I have written hundreds of articles containing my best ideas, all of which are available for free on my website. I send a newsletter every month without fail, delivering my newest ideas to inboxes all over the world. I respond to emails and LinkedIn questions directly. I give free advice by phone to inactive clients and prospective clients because they need it, not because they are considering hiring me. I truly appreciate it when people take the time to reply with their thanks and reactions, comment on and share my posts on social media, and write testimonials for my website or for my books on Amazon. The social sharing and Amazon reviews are especially appreciated because my goal is to spread the power of clarity and those are great ways to get the message out. But something happened recently that caught me up short.
I recently accepted a friend request on Facebook from a relative I don’t know well. She immediately commented on some of my posts, so I visited some of hers. What I found was a welcome breath of fresh air and a model for others on social media! For example, my new friend had shared an article from christianpost.com entitled “We are pro-life evangelicals for Biden.” Not only was this article political, it addressed abortion, the issue garnering possibly the most unyielding and entrenched positions. Can you feel the heat just thinking about it? Thirty-five comments later, I was wishing I could bottle and sell the tone and techniques I had encountered in this very serious discussion. The first comment could have triggered a typical series of angry, disrespectful Facebook rants: “Pro-life refers to abortion. All these other issues can’t be tacked on. Harris and Biden are pro-choice, not pro-life.” My Visit To Wonderland
After almost two decades of running pretty much all of the meetings I attend, I suppose there was a danger that I might forget what it’s like to be on the receiving end. Well, it all came roaring back to me the other day as I sat helplessly in a socially distanced meeting.
I heard several interesting interviews on NPR the other day. These were people who care about our country as much as I do. Who care about many of the same issues as I do. Who exhibit many of the same values. Thoughtful, kind, caring people. But people who have reached completely different conclusions about the state of the country, who is doing what, who thinks what, and what needs to be done.
After moving to a small town in New Hampshire two years ago, I found myself getting involved in local issues where I have strong opinions. Ironically, despite all of my experience and success facilitating difficult decisions with clients, I am not an effective facilitator when I have strong opinions! And guess what. You aren’t an effective facilitator when you have strong opinions either!