One reason we humans work well in groups is because we “know” what others in the group think.
It maybe we know their views on important topics, or just how they will react in certain circumstances. We might be guessing or know with confidence, but teams simply don’t work without some level of “mind reading”.
It’s why mature teams run smoothly.
It’s also why great leaders make sure that their teams can “read” their minds. They try to read their team’s minds as well.
They are not just open and clear communicators, but consistent.
Did you ever have a boss that kept you guessing? Just wasn’t predictable or consistent?
Did they make you work harder or slower?
Did you adopt to their confusing behavior or just get stressed?
There’s a simple trick to mind reading.
The trick is being consistent and concise.
Not just about objectives, or instructions, but about priorities.
1,2,3.
What’s important, what’s not, what’s the rank order between them.
If everything is important nothing is.
1 is ahead of 2, 2 beats 3.
If you want to control people, just tell them what to do today.
If you want to empower people and get results, tell them what’s important to achieving the long term objective, and stick to that list over time.
Give people time to know your mind by repeating a simple message.
Priorities can change, but if they change too often you don’t have priorities – you have confusion.
When your team can’t read your mind they might just wait for those instructions, or today’s hot topic.
Wait for you.
“…if everything is important nothing is…”
What are your team’s priorities today?
Does your team know what they are?
Are they the same as they were last week, last month, last year?
How often do you remind yourself and your team what they are?
How often do you shift objectives or add new ones?
When you have a new idea do you find a way to fit it into the overall objectives or just add it to the list?
Do you have a way to decide how important that new idea is? Or are they all important?
Do you have an acronym that helps people remember what the order of priority is?
Quality, Service, Cost..
Customer, People, Profit..
Safety first..
If you’re in a larger organization does it have a mission statement?
Do your priorities align with that or different? If they don’t align, which one should your team follow?
Would your team be able to tell a visitor what your team’s priorities are?
How do I read your mind?
.
.
“I might be wrong, but at least I’ve thought about it…”