What's Really Going On?

By: Jeff West

“The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”

― George Bernard Shaw – playwright

Have you ever implemented a strategy for your business or organization only to be bewildered later why it didn’t work as planned? If so, don’t feel bad, you’re a member of a large and distinguished club.

I think it’s safe to say one of the top responsibilities of any leader is the ability to perceive what’s going on in the world as accurately as possible. Some call this vision. Our success or failure depends on how we take the world into account.

Businesses don’t fail because of financials reasons. That’s a symptom not the cause. They fail because the people making the strategic decisions didn’t have the right information about what was really going on in the world it operated in. The leaders of this organization may have thought they knew but the results ultimately proved otherwise. Even if everyone agreed, your executives, external consultants and you as the leader, the world is never compelled to conform to your beliefs. They didn’t really know what they needed to survive and even thrive. As a leader, you succeed or fail for the same reason. So how do the great leaders approach this problem?

First, they understand that no one has the ability to see world 100% precisely as it is. How we and others see the world always depends on how our mind works, on how we interpret what’s going on. What you see is the result of a large amount of filtering based on many things. Just a few; how you were raised, education level, the culture you grew up in, life experiences etc. Your mind is creating your reality. We create the meanings of things. Everything depends on how accurately our meanings match what’s really going on in the environment we operate in.

The second thing great leaders understand is that this ultimately comes down to being a communications issue. In the above example, what was communicated and agreed to among everyone involved didn’t match up with what was really going on in their world. There are plenty examples of this in the dust bin of history. Polaroid, TWA, Woolworths, American Motors, and Hostess to name just a few. I’m sure all of these companies had their Strategic Plans they were implementing. Apparently, it didn’t go as they thought it would. Their communication about what was really going on was wrong.

So, if our success or failure depends on how we take the world into account, what do we do to try and put the odds in our favor?

The third thing our great leader understands is that the ability to ask the right questions is the key. The best leaders I’ve ever met had one thing in common. They were all very good at not only asking questions but asking the right questions. They pick who informs them carefully, beginning with themselves. They’re constantly skeptical of what they believe and what they hear. They have the courage to dig in and get as clear of picture of what’s really going on in the world, even and especially when, it challenges their current thinking and biases. They know the common thinking many believe is the thing to be interrogated the most. They understand that truth can be a red herring. Whether something is true or not isn’t the issue. It’s the consequences of what we believe and act on that show us whether we’re on the right path or not.

As the opening quote points to, we often believe communication is about content. In reality, leaders know it’s really about the consequences of our communication. Are we going down the right path or not? If not, what are we assuming that isn’t true? What questions do we need to ask to understand better what’s really going on? Continually asking questions, even when our business is running well, can help keep us ahead of the curve. We can be prepared when our market changes, a new competitor shows up or an unforeseen event in the world throws up new and unique obstacles in our path.

Asking the right questions, at the right time from the right sources will serve you better than anything else you can do. Let your curiosity go wild! Become an expert in communicating. Challenge your thinking then challenge it again. You’ll be amazed at how much pertinent intelligence you can acquire in a short amount of time.