Have you
ever caught yourself doing waffly corporate speak? Maybe something like this..
“As we strategically pivot to generate greater
integration there may be, in the fulness of time, important adaptions that will
need to be made to ensure future viability going forward.”
Why do leaders talk like this? Is it some kind
of brain snap or is there something deeper going on?
You are expected to say something but you can’t
One reason you slip into corporate waffle is because you feel like you
are expected to say something when you can’t. You don’t want to be evasive but,
its complicated. You know important stuff that you are not allowed to share. It
may be important stuff that will have a big impact on people you work with.
Recent news headlines about leadership and organisational failures have
heightened the importance of authenticity and openness. If a leader comes
across as a bit clunky in an interview, we feel a creeping sense of doubt and
distrust of them. This feeling really ramps up when they give complicated,
long-winded answers to questions. One of our pet hates is when a political
leader doesn’t directly answer a question. We start to wonder what they are
hiding.
Authenticity and openness build trust
These same dynamics are at play inside organisations as well.
Authenticity and openness are important to building trust. A lot of the time this
is fine. You can brief your team about the business strategy, share financial
and operational updates. You can facilitate conversations where people can
question and explore what this all means for their work. You can share your
ideas and even your worries. You will try to give feedback and be open to
feedback from others on how you can improve.
As you move into more senior leadership roles it gets complicated. You are
exposed to much broader and longer term information. Much of this is not yet at
the stage of final decision. Often a wide range of possibilities are under
discussion. But you still have working relationships with people whose future
you hold in your hands. And you can’t tell them everything. Often you can’t
tell them anything.
Authentically withholding information?
So how do you authentically and openly withhold information? Does that even make sense? What do you do when people ask you direct question about what’s going on? Here are some ideas:
- Own the fact that you will know more than you can tell. This is the reality of leadership roles. Which doesn’t mean you are on a power trip or playing a political game. But you will have to find your own peace with this part of your leadership role. Because you are now involved in planning and shaping the future you will quite often know more than you can tell.
- Share as much as you can most the time. If people’s main experience of you is that you do share a lot of information, they are more likely to accept that sometimes you can’t. As much as you can, make your default setting to communicate as much of the big and small picture as you can.
- Check your assumptions about what you can and can’t share. Your own fears and anxieties can cut in and lead you to self-censor more than you actually need to. Trust is two way and sometimes you can under-estimate your team’s willingness and ability to rise to the occasion and keep information confidential.
- When you can’t tell people stuff, be authentic and open about it. Don’t try a corporate smoke screen. Tell people that you know more but that you are not willing to share it at the moment. Notice the language. You are not willing to. Not that you are not allowed. Own your leadership decisions. This can frustrate people. By saying ‘you are not allowed’, you dilute your own leadership power. If you are actively doing the first three things, people will trust you because they will see you as a leader with integrity. You mean what you say.
In my coaching work, this is one of the more difficult transitions that leaders have to make. Often leaders have worked very hard to be courageously authentic. They have confronted their own fears and started to dismantle the learned narratives that no longer work for them. And then they are told not to share information that they know will have a huge effect on people. This is not a cynical turning point. It is one an example of courage in leadership. To say, “I know but I am not willing to share it at the moment.’
