Page 57 - The Voice of Authority

for you. Informal chats in the hallway. Fireside chats in the
lobby. Factory visits by the big-cheese. Morning meetings
between shifts. One-on-one meetings with each team lead.
Message boards in the restrooms. Weekly teleconferencing
or videoconferencing. Monthly skip meetings. Company
or department newsletters. Paycheck stuffers. E-mail blasts
before or after lunch. Chat sessions on the intranet. Hot-
lines for questions. Blogs by your brother-in-law. Voice-
mail solos with your sister. Just do it regularly.

Never Fear to Be Fallible

Leaders sometimes feel that they can instill confidence in
others by comments like these: “We’re on top of the situ-
ation.” “Everything’s under control.” “Don’t worry. We’re
on it. It’s being handled.”
But trust and commitment rise when others feel they are
included in the situation. And should the previous claims
prove untrue, trust plummets. Consider communicating
openly with language that implies you may just be fallible:

“We’re aware of the situation—we’re monitoring it.”
“The situation’s on
our radar—we’re When you have to eat
watching it closely.”
crow on occasion, it goes
“In this situation, down much easier when
here’s what I think is mixed with a dash of hu-
the best way to go and mility and a pinch of
why. . . .”
honesty. Plus, people
“Here’s my position don’t consider it so much
on the issue and what fun to watch you choke.
my data says. . . .”

Is It Complete? 45