When I landed my first athletics director job, I was young, inexperienced and thought I knew everything. I was ready to take on the world and become the leader I was born to be.
Well, I made many mistakes, as we all do, in my early years. But I always had the best intentions. I was eager to help people. I wanted to hold them accountable for the good of the department and for their own career benefit.
One of the skills I was to hang my hat upon was consistency. I wanted to make sure that I communicated well. I believed in uniform messages for all to hear. That way, there would be no differences in what I told people. Everyone would hear the same thing. Right…?
Not exactly.
My methods were sound and logical. I would deliver important information and messages during our staff meetings. I typically held staff meetings once per month. Frequent enough, but not overly burdensome. Everyone received an agenda and the agenda also would contain important messages.
So everyone listened to me deliver the same words. The written agenda contained the same words on every copy. How could there be any confusion about what I said or what I wanted?
I-N-T-E-R-P-R-E-T-A-T-I-O-N
We all interpret what we see, hear and experience based on our own filters. Many of these filters are unconscious, making it even more difficult to identify and deal with.
- Pay Attention to Non-verbal Feedback
Body language says a lot. - Ask for Understanding and Agreement
Engage people in active communication. - Individual Follow Up Builds Relationship
Individual follow up is essential to ensure that messages were delivered effectively and received with your intentions in tact.
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