Media mavens and human resource professionals seem to collaborate periodically to establish, the cliché of the day. For a while it was “That being said.” Before that, it was touching base, doing a deep dive, cascading, at the end of the day, and the bottom line. Now we all need to “start the conversation.”
Pick any item in the news: racial unrest, trouble in the Middle East, immigration, or public school reform. Everyone wants to “start a conversation” or “join the conversation,” but no one actually changes anything, sets a deadline for accomplishing it, defines the tactics that would make sense, or establishes who’s in charge. All this might explain why Congress has just received its all-time lowest approval ratings.
The same weak action orientation plagues businesses too. People want to do a survey, analyze data, formulate a plan—all culminating in the worst of all possible worlds: the meeting. It’s just hard on the furniture. Each scenario points to a specific problem: lack of leadership—no one making a decision about required change.
Leaders need to stop the conversation and start the action. Why?
- Conversation makes people feel better because they convince themselves they’re doing something other than just talking.
- Conversation examines alternatives to a goal no one has defined.
- Talking buys people time before anyone expects them to act.
- Finding ways to return to the status quo solves problems but never truly innovates or improves anything.
- Everyone suffers inordinately between the time the problem surfaces and someone makes a decision about what needs to change.
What’s a well-intended leader to do?
- When faced with a major decision, realize you’ll never have all available information, but you probably have enough. Remember, the goal: improvement, not perfection.
- Seek information from experts and trusted advisors, not those with conflicting agendas. Everyone has an opinion, but heed advice only from those who honestly want your success.
- Frame decisions in one sentence so you hear only relevant answers.
- Avoid inferences and judgments. Ask for and express
- Steer away from activities and tactics and toward outcomes and results.
A cliché of past decades taught us that “talk’s cheap.” It isn’t. It costs dearly in lost hours, opportunities, and power. Talking about talking costs even more. The time has come for tough decisions and actions that bring results.
Dr. Linda Henman is one of those rare experts who can say she’s a coach, consultant, speaker, and author. For more than 30 years, she has worked with Fortune 500 Companies and small businesses that want to think strategically, grow dramatically, promote intelligently, and compete successfully today and tomorrow. Some of her clients include Emerson Electric, Boeing, Avon and Tyson Foods. She was one of eight experts who worked directly with John Tyson after his company’s acquisition of International Beef Products, one of the most successful acquisitions of the twentieth century.
Linda holds a Ph.D. in organizational systems and two Master of Arts degrees in both interpersonal communication and organization development and a Bachelor of Science degree in communication. Whether coaching executives or members of the board, Linda offers clients coaching and consulting solutions that are pragmatic in their approach and sound in their foundation—all designed to create exceptional organizations.
She is the author of Landing in the Executive Chair: How to Excel in the Hot Seat, The Magnetic Boss: How to Become the Leader No One Wants to Leave, and contributing editor and author to Small Group Communication, among other works.
Dr. Henman can be reached at 
