Good leadership is all about communicating "Why" | Saurabh Pratap

 

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, it is imperative to learn new skills, and one of the key skills to be a good leader is effective communication. If you are leading a team, irrespective of big or small; you must be adept at effective communication. During these unprecedented times, with more and more reliance upon digital communication, effective and timely communication is mission-critical. Despite all the communication challenges, business deliverables must be met at all times. I am certain that you all leaders are keeping your teams aligned and motivated to deliver the best experience to the clients even during these difficult times. To achieve desired results, how you connect and communicate with every team member is crucial.

Let me give you a scenario. You as a manager or a team leader have been tasked with a new project. Once you get a brief about the project, you should immediately chalk out a project plan which involves your tasks, action plans, timelines, and of course delegation. So, once you delegate the tasks to your team, you should communicate in a way that would engage and motivate them to work with a sense of urgency and put in their best effort. To make them deliver their best, I am sure that you communicate the “what” and “how” of the project. But do you also discuss the “why”? Always remember that your teammates are going to execute the instructions, so the obvious question that comes to their mind is “why am I doing it or why should I do it?” Always remember that explaining ‘what’ and ‘how’ is not the fastest way to influence your people. If you do not communicate the ‘why’ behind the whole exercise, you would leave your team guessing, as they are not aware of the underlying reason and purpose. They do not have clarity of their role in the ‘bigger picture’ and it may negatively impact overall motivation towards the common goal.

A good leader must relate to their people in tough situations, clearly communicate action plans, patiently hear their questions and concerns. People can understand the ‘what’ and ‘how’, but it will be when they can truly comprehend the ‘why’, that the message will be clearly understood, leading to a higher motivation level and easy goal achievement. So, here are 3 strategies that may help you get to the heart of the “why”.

·       Ask any interesting “what” questions: Answers on ‘why’ questions are always hidden in our subconscious, and you might have to coax them out. Asking yourself a few "what" questions, such as "What is at stake if we do or do not do this?" will help you figure out why. What will the future hold if we complete this task? What would the outcome be like if we did or didn't do it this way? Another way to figure out ‘why’ is to make someone else question you "so what if?" until you conclude. This will help get you to the bottom of the "why”. You might want to try the famous ‘5 Whys’ technique for appropriate scenarios.

·      Follow up with “because”: Knowing the ‘why’ isn't enough; you need to explain the ‘why’ while you communicate with the team. Consider what action you want your team members to take, and then add the word "because." It would give them better clarity. Let me give you some examples: “We need to change our process because ____,”. After a “we need to pull up the accuracy, because _______,” clearly communicates whatever purpose follows. Once you communicate the why, pause for any follow up questions from the team.

·    State alternate perspectives: Deal patiently with skeptics and opposition by discussing the viewpoints you've already ruled out. It may seem counterintuitive to share something other than the action you're trying to convince them to take but sharing ideas you've decided to discard and "why" you've discarded them will help you persuade your audience. You'll show that you've considered, explored in detail, verified, and then abandoned all possibilities. Be open for critical questions, patiently answer them as per best of your understanding or note them to seek further clarifications.

Always remember that we leaders are interacting with different personalities with a wide spectrum of perspectives, emotions and explaining ‘why’ adds a layer of persuasion to our interactions and is also an expression of empathy. People are much more likely to understand, correlate and comply when they understand why they are being asked to do something. When your action and communication show empathy, I am sure that your team will go out of their way to give their best.