08/16/2019

The Benefits Of Thinking Out Loud

Awareness through the eyes of others aids leaders

It’s easy to get a bad rap if we don’t take the time to explain our actions to those most affected. Sounds simple I know but…often overlooked!  It took a while for me but eventually I developed this awareness as seen through the eyes of others. Ever since, I have tried to generically describe some of my behaviors in order to give those I work with the opportunity to better understand my thought process and hopefully then to feel more of a purpose in their responsibilities. In some cases, doing so helped rationalize what otherwise could appear as indecisiveness while in other cases it provided invaluable ‘teachable moments.’

‘Think in parallel, not in series:’

‘Now what do we do?’  Words often uttered when we hit a wall and a plan fails; disappointment, frustration, no fallback position. The polar opposite isn’t any better; ‘why am I doing this if they’re following other paths…I’m just wasting my time?’ In leadership positions we have an obligation to consider multiple courses of action and, often of necessity, many of us pursue a number of them simultaneously.  This doesn’t imply uncertainty but it can result in bad optics!

Please select this link to read the complete article from Chief Executive.