Effective Comms

I've said it before, I'll say it again - communication is your primary tool as a leader. Our maintainers have wrenches, screw drivers, hammers, etc. but we have our mouths, our written correspondence, and our non-verbal methods to ensure our jobs are done. This week has been crazy - it will only get busier with our upcoming operational schedule. So, my postings are likely to decrease. I did want to use this blog as a means to reflect/log my means of leading. This week I failed a couple times (that I am aware of) in the way I communicated. While walking my spaces with my Divo and his Chief I was asking the Divo about the basics of different pieces of equipment. There was a piece of machinery that he did not know, that I thought he should have. Instead of teaching I simply made a sarcasticlly suprised facial expression in the direction of the Chief and kept walking. Later, another officer told me that my Divo was talking to him about how stupid he felt and his desire to get smarter on his gear. The latter thought is good the initial is not. My simple expression communicated negatively resulting in all sorts of unintended consequences. Be careful what your face is communicating. Below is a good article from Re: on leadership and communication.

Effective Communication: The Leader’s Greatest Skill

Dave Kraft
Leadership Development Pastor at Mars Hill Church

Effective Communication series:

A Skill Worth Learning

Probably no skill is more helpful to acquire and develop than becoming an excellent communicator. I believe that communication is a skill that can be learned. A number of years ago I realized that my ability to communicate well needed major work, so I joined Toastmasters International in order to improve my private and public communication. It was by far the best investment in my leadership portfolio that I have ever made. I am still reaping the benefits of the eleven years I was a Toastmaster.

Author, speaker, and seminar leader Brian Tracy says,

Your ability to communicate effectively with people will contribute more to your success than any other skill that you can develop. I’ve studied success and achievement in America for more than 30 years. I’ve spoken to more than a million people, individually, and in groups, and I’ve taken extensive courses on speaking and the art of persuasion. I’ve read countless books and articles on how to influence, negotiate with, and persuade people. I’ve learned that fully 85% of what you accomplish in your career and in your personal life will be determined by how well you get your message across and by how capable you are in inspiring people to take action on your ideas.

Wow! Is learning to communicate essential or what?

Ethos, Logos, and Pathos

What is involved with saying what you mean and causing others to understand and respond positively? Let’s go way back to Aristotle, who lived, wrote, and taught three centuries before Christ. What he had to say still serves us well today. He believed that effective communication is comprised of the speaker, the message, and the audience, and to get your message across without misunderstanding is a combination of ethos (the credibility of the speaker), logos (the truth and relevancy of the message), and pathos (the emotional and appropriate response of the receivers). The ethos of the speaker sharing the logos of the message will elicit pathos in the audience. What Aristotle believed has been accepted, taught, and practiced for 23 centuries. Must be something to it!

Comms 101

"The tongue has the power of life and death,and those who love it will eat its fruit." (Prv. 18:21)

Communication requires both a transmitter and a receiver; should the transmitter be communicating on the wrong channel or at the wrong frequency the receiver will not hear the message. Likewise, failure to communicate creatively or in a way that is relevant to the target audience will result in the message not being received. Effective communication must facilitate collaboration which enriches the conversation.

Words Matter

"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." (Prv. 12:18)

We probably learn best when we fail. During my initial sea tours I made countless leadership mistakes. Shore duty afforded me the opportunity to reflect on them and consider how I can change to be better for my Sailors as a DH. Those who have stood the watch before us should share their experiences to improve the performance of their reliefs. None of us perform flawlessly (in spite of what our FITREP/award says); we all have fallen short in how we care for the people that have been entrusted to us. I certainly have - more than I wish to remember. I hope that when I share it edifies those who read and I encourage others with their own leadership experience to impart their wisdom as well.

I learned that my words matter early in my second Divo tour. Prior to this I thought that I could "joke" and say nearly whatever I thought without any thought. I learned this lesson the hard way on one particularly long day when everything seemed to be going wrong - gear was breaking repeatedly, and all of our work-arounds were ineffective. The crew was small (~40) and one of my First Class Petty Officers was really carrying the load (he always did as the #1 E-6 onboard). You would have to know this guy - big (6'4'', 250lbs), tough, and with considerable experience (~18 yrs of service). I was standing on the fantail, late in the evening, with my Senior Chief and one of my Divos. The First Class comes up, sweaty and greasy, to tell Senior that things just weren't going as planned and repairs were going to take longer than expected. In my arrogance, I made an off-hand comment, joking to the effect that if he could do more than one thing at a time it wouldn't have been a problem. It was the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back" at that point in his day. He had put out max effort and to have me say that nearly brought him to tears (rather in anger or just exhaustion). I'll never forget the look on his face. It's hard to believe that as a 25 year old LTJG my thoughts/words could have such an impact on a guy like him, but it did. He left quickly so nobody would see him. I'll also never forget Senior Chief's face as he told me how inappropriate my comment was. Our words reveal our thoughts. To the First Class, as his boss (I write his eval), I communicated that I thought his performance was sub-standard. Of course, it hadn't been but he will never know that. I missed the opportunity to encourage him and tell him how much I appreciated his efforts and the efforts of those he lead. Not to mention, I also set a bad example for the Ensign that was there. Of even more significance I sinned - displeasing and poorly representing Christ. I learned when you are in a position of authority your words matter immensely. They can pierce or they can heal - we must communicate carefully.