A sticky note on a document simply read, “Please review.” With red pen in hand, I spent a couple of hours going through it carefully, making grammar changes, writing comments and questions in the margins, and rewriting parts of it. I put the marked-up copy on the employee’s desk and left for the evening. The next morning, the employee came in, handed me a new red ink pen, and said, “Based on your markups, I’m pretty sure that you’ll be needing a new pen soon. I only wanted you to review the document to see if it was in the right format. It was just a very rough draft.”
Since then, I’ve learned that George Bernard Shaw is right: “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
And there are a lot of similarities between leadership communication and air traffic control. More on that in just a moment.
The Hidden Costs of Fuzzy Communication
I’m curious - how many times have you had to do extra work, rework, or start over because you weren’t given clear instructions?
It’s frustrating. According to Ann Latham, author of The Power of Clarity, disclarity consumes up to 80 percent of workforce productivity.
A study by the Project Management Institute (PMI) indicates that poor communication leads to project failure one third of the time and negatively impacts projects more than half the time.
The Construction Industry Institute (CII) found that communication failures are responsible for nearly 80 percent of construction project problems.
Confusion = Rework, Delays, $$, and Frustration
When leaders aren’t clear when they provide instructions, people are left second-guessing. Oftentimes, team members are concerned about asking for clarification out of fear of being viewed as incompetent. Instead, the person makes assumptions and may do unhelpful work, causing delays and rework.
Without clear roles and responsibilities, people or teams duplicate effort or work is missed entirely with the “I thought you were doing that” thinking. More rework and frustration.
Unclear or delayed communication leaves people second-guessing. Stakeholders may be operating on one set of assumptions and other teams think something else. Misinformation leads to poor decision-making.
Problems associated with poor communications snowball. If rework is on the critical path of a project or a critical resource that is expected on another project, end dates slip. One delay impacts another and one late project causes delays in more projects.
Poor communication isn’t just a productivity problem - it’s also a people problem. No one wants to do rework or chase down clarification questions. They get frustrated, engagement and morale drops, and trust is the leader starts to wane.
How Air Traffic Controllers Communicate
Can you imagine what would happen if Air Traffic Control employees at Chicago O’Hare Airport (with over 2,400 takeoffs and landings daily) communicated like most leaders?
PRIORITIZATION
Tower: “Delta, pick whichever runway looks good to you. They’re all fine.”
Leader: “I’ll let you know later which priority matters most.”
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Ground: “Allegiant and United, taxi out to one of the runways and work it out between the two of you who will go first.”
Leader: “You two figure out who’s taking the lead on this project.”
DIRECTION
Departure: “Southwest, climb to…well, whatever altitude seems safe.”
Leader: “Do what you think makes sense - I’ll trust you to figure it out.”
DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS
Approach: “Alaska, just keep circling. I don’t want to be the one telling Frontier to move. I’d rather not deal with that.”
Leader: “Let that employee keep underperforming. I don’t want to have that hard conversation.”
DELEGATION
American Captain: “I’ll handle this landing myself - it’s faster if I just do it. Everyone needs to get out of my way.”
Leader: “I’ll just finish the report myself - it’s easier than delegating to someone else.”
Clear Words, Safe Landings
Air Traffic Controllers don’t improvise or get careless when lives are on the line. They use precise, standardized language every single time. When I was flying my Beech Bonanza, getting ready to take off, I used and was given the same instructions at every airport:
Me: “Bonanza 7-7-8 Romeo Whiskey, ready for takeoff.”
Tower: “Bonanza 7-7-8 Romeo Whiskey, cleared for takeoff.”
A pilot never has to wonder what “cleared for takeoff” or “fly heading 270, climb and maintain 3,000” means; it’s the same phrase, in the same order, every single time - with zero ambiguity. You follow the direction with preciseness and know that you are accountable for your actions.
Leaders can create the same safety and efficiency by using unambiguous words, setting clear team expectations, and showing consistency in their actions.
How I Help
In my 25 year consulting career leading and recovering programs and projects, I’ve seen my fair share of mistakes made. One of the biggest problem areas is poor communications. In fact, in my new book, Practical Leadership: A Guide to Building Trust, Getting Results, and Changing Lives, one entire section and three chapters are dedicated to how to ensure effective communications - from active listening, communicating with different audiences, feedback, and difficult conversations. Each chapter provides actionable frameworks that can be put into use immediately.
3 Tips to Avoid Miscommunication and Rework
Here are some ways to avoid communication misses.
Stop using vague phrases
What does it mean when you say, “Review this document,” “Help out on a project,” or “Keep me posted.” Be explicit about what you want. Are you looking for approval of a document? Do you want someone to manage the project? Do you want daily updates? Take the needed time to explain exactly what you expect.
Confirm understanding
For some reason, we think people can read our minds and know exactly what we mean. Instead of saying, “Got it?”, ask the person to summarize what they heard and ensure that they understand the expectations. Just like with Air Traffic Control, pilots confirm the instructions given by repeating them.
Make words and actions consistent
One of the fastest ways to create confusion and frustration is to send mixed messages. When a leader sends an email at 11:00pm after telling the team members that work-life balance is important, it creates confusion.
Steps You Can Take Right Now
You can start improving your communications today by practicing these tips. If you want to go deeper, schedule time with me to brainstorm practical steps for you or your team. I also offer a communication workshop for leaders that covers active listening, navigating hard conversations, setting clear expectations, and presenting effectively to different audiences - skills every leader needs to cut through noise and drive results.
When everyone’s on the same page, priorities are clear and people know exactly what’s expected of them. Instead of wasting time second-guessing or redoing work, the team is focused and working on the right things. Your team is cleared for takeoff!
That’s not an impossible dream. That’s leadership done right. I can help you get there.
Schedule a free problem-solving call with me at janetply.me.
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