I don’t believe I need to insult any reader’s intelligence to describe what the learning is here. You can clearly see Jungian traits in the range of responses. (A is Red. B is Blue. C is Green. D is Yellow!)
Simply.. If you ask a group of people to ‘’write about an ice cream’’ expect different results. People decode information suited to their personalities, behavioural types and indeed culture and backgrounds. So unless we are perfectly obvious, we will evoke a mix of understandings.
In a business scenario, the manager that barked; ‘’write about an ice-cream’’ will often be angry and frustrated at the lack of precision they may have been seeking.
I use models such as Mr George T. Doran’s popular structure SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, and Realistic) to embed communication channels.
We cannot merely state ‘’write about an ice-cream’’, we need transparency that fits all personality types and cultures. Delivered in a SMART fashion may look more like this: Please can you write a 500 word document on the varied flavours and popularity of Joe Blogs’ ice-cream brand, so we can analyse our current offerings. Please include some research of the most popular flavours. Please email the document to me by 4pm on Friday of this week.
The last thought I will create frustration with, I know. How does all of this apply if we want empowerment, innovation and creativity? Yipes!
Another day….
Paula Jane Cox is a partner for Lumina Learning in the Middle East. She has over 18 years experience in consulting with leaders and decision-makers to improve business effectiveness, the bottom line and engaging employees on a global scale.
COMMUNICATION - FEATURE