GYCZ – Progressives Fail To Communicate

I saw this post on Twitter/X earlier this year and loved the opinion expressed. @PeterHRatcliffe stated that ‘Progressives’ believe their ideas make perfect sense and then fail to communicate their ideas well.

Driving Change & Agreement on Issues

It’s a fair comment, however I’ll add that, not only Progressives, but every speaker, every communicator, has a responsibility to communicate their ideas well.  It’s especially important when you wish to encourage, promote, or drive change.

 Here’s a link to the tweet https://x.com/PeterHRatcliffe/status/1805900850709004459

 

A Simple Model for Driving Change

Here’s a model for driving change that can be used if you’re delivering a single presentation, or delivering a series of presentations over a longer period for a more complicated issue.

1.   Define the Problem or Issue

The primary purpose of a speech is to inform, persuade, or entertain. When exploring change or introducing a new concept to an audience, it will be difficult to persuade. First, you need to inform about the problem or issue, and to get concurrence that the problem exists and is significant. If the audience doesn’t accept that there is a problem or issue, then they will never be persuaded to think differently or act differently.

With a new concept, your goal must be to get concurrence that there is an issue and have the audience eager to pursue solutions.

Problem definitions should be short, simple and clear. I’m confident that everyone reading this post has heard a speaker explain with passion what he perceives as an issue, but you remain unclear of the exact issue.  The problem ideally should be reduced to one simple sentence.

2.   Develop Alternatives

Once your audience agrees there is an issue, and is willing to invest time, energy, and money, it’s time to describe or develop possible solutions.  Ideas could be developed during a team exercise, or you might present a series of options and invite other ideas from the audience. In my opinion, it’s always advisable to engage the audience and let them voice their ideas.

3.   Select a Solution

There are many methods to assist a team in selecting an alternative once the alternatives have been thoroughly discussed.  People need to be heard, and to feel that they’ve been heard. 

Approaches include SWOT analysis, Nominal Group Technique with ranking, listing of pros and cons, and dot voting Dot Voting

 

Conclusion

The primary purpose of a speech is to inform, persuade, or entertain. If you’re planning to speak with an ultimate goal to enable a group decision, you better be very clear.  If you’re not clear it will be very difficult to get your audience on board, and you’re likely to become frustrated with your lack of progress.

Every speaker, every communicator, has a responsibility to communicate their ideas well.  Public speaking is a skill.  Skills require practice.

 

 

GYCZ – Accountability Partners & Committing To Goals

Every year I talk with people who set ambitious goals and often abandon those goals by mid-point of their term. Too often I see people announce goals without even a rudimentary plan on how to start well, how to make advancements, and how to recognize and celebrate their progress. There is great power in recognizing momentum, and celebrating even small successes that will ultimately lead to goal achievement.

One method to increase the likelihood of goal achievement is enlisting one or more accountability partners. An accountability partner is someone who will remind you of your goals, will celebrate progress you might not see, and will generally support your efforts. Your team can play the role of an accountability partner, and regular check-ins and progress reviews can provide discipline and an accountability check.

An Overview of Accountability Partners

The content at this link provides a comprehensive overview of accountability partners, both paid and unpaid accountability partners.

https://simplish.co/blog/accountability-partner

 

Don’t Try To Do It Alone

Many of us will initially communicate quite little with our team members while laboring towards goal achievement, and then grow frustrated with a lack of meaningful progress. I state that from experience. However, I’ve learned that simple, regular check-ins with my team will provide both an opportunity for celebration of small successes and a check on accountability. I touched upon this topic in this post

 https://gycz.blogspot.com/2023/08/how-to-focus-your-distracted-team.html

 

The Power of Communicating Goals

The simplish.co link provided above offers some great content. I particularly like this quote, as it relates to accountability partners and, in my opinion, it applies very well to team check-ins;

 

“Setting personal commitments and devising action plans in isolation can often lead to a cycle of procrastination, lethargy, and diminished focus when confronted with the initial hurdles. The effectiveness of having an external accountability partner relies on open communication, trust, and - above all - a shared commitment to self-improvement and mutual growth.”

 

American Society of Association Executives on Accountability

It is important to have people around you who support you. However ‘supporters’ are not necessarily people who will hold you accountable.

The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) always provides excellent content including this article on accountability.

https://www.asaecenter.org/resources/articles/an_plus/2023/8-august/why-communication-and-a-peer-network-help-build-effective-leaders

 

Here’s a great observation from the article;

“Make sure to surround yourself with peers who are willing to hold you accountable. If you surround yourself with people who just say yes, you risk becoming disconnected from your community and your members.”

 

Conclusion

 

Most of us instinctively understand that it’s helpful have a team or accountability partners around us when pursuing significant goals.

Related to this, in enterprises where goals are renewed year after year, development of team members is a key responsibility of leaders, and ultimately more important than in-year results. 

If you’re taking on responsibility for achievement of significant goals, don’t delay in enlisting one or more accountability partners, and establishing check-ins with your team both as an accountability check, and to celebrate progress and individual initiative.

A familiar African proverb states “if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.”