Listening to Sonia Sotomayor retrack her “wise Latina” comments made me think about an old Vince Gill song – Pretty Words. “They’re just pretty words” seemed about right. This is often the role of the politician, to say things that make people feel better. We have limited manner in which to hold them to their words, so we often judge the words based on if we believed what they were saying. Think of how we now perceive Roger Clemens, Alex “A-Rod” Rodriguez, and the steroid gang.
One of the problems we have as leaders is an overuse of pretty words. We are often asked questions that can not be answered at that time, thus forcing us to spin a response:
- Are we having layoffs?
- Are we selling the company?
While these hurt credibility with the front line, they are necessary to keep some level of sanity and productivity. Yet, what happens when executive communication seems to be only about spin and pretty words. If the rank and file feel “pretty words is all he is giving you” then we have a problem with communication and trust. If these are broken, you can bet productivity is no where near optimal levels.
As executives and leaders we can know, or we can think we know if people are listening. What I have often seen is that the good ones assume they don’t know and find out – thus reinforcing positive communication.
- When was the last time you had an outside, independent team assess “trust” in the organization?
- What would be the value to the organization?
- What if you hear something you don’t like?
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