Page 61 - The Voice of Authority

If you need additional signs that you’re not getting
through, consider these:

Lack of questions. (You call for questions at the end of
a presentation, and there are none. Or, you bring up
an idea in a meeting and you’re greeted with only po-
lite smiles.)
Unexpected responses. (People respond irrationally to
what you say, such as with anger, withdrawal, silence,
or denial.)
Lack of coordination. (Things “fall between the
cracks” in coordinating projects.)
Rework. (Projects have to be redone because the in-
structions weren’t clear the first time. Or, extra work
was completed “just in case” to “cover all the bases”
because somebody wasn’t sure what was needed.)
Low morale. (People feel discouraged that they can
never “get it right” when, in fact, projects are fre-
quently delegated without essential elements for suc-
cessful completion.)

We need objective measures of clarity. That’s why or-
ganizations pay pollsters to take their temperature period-
ically—to let their leaders know how well they’re commu-
nicating.
Results from the latest Communication Effectiveness
Consortium, brought together by Towers Perrin, a global
professional services firm, suggest that 63 percent of em-
ployees say their senior leaders effectively communicate
their goals.
That means 37 percent still do not. And we’re talking
about the senior leaders here—those who have access to
assistants and the finest technology to help them shape and

Is It Clear? 49