The Courage to Communicate

Being a great communicator takes courage. The root of the word "courage" is the Latin word for "heart." Having courage is having the heart to do the right thing even if it is the hard thing.

Take for example the leader who has an employee that is not acting in accordance with organizational values. I have met a number of these leaders and it is their courage to act that differentiates the good ones. Take Mark, for example, he heard from a number of employees about some questionable actions by a manager. He collected information from all of the stakeholders and made the tough decision to let the manager go. He communicated his decision to the manager, the team and other stakeholders clearly and with integrity. The morale at his company dragged for a short period, but it picked up and they went on to post a great year.

Now, think about Bill, who did not want to hurt the feelings of his employee, no matter how many people complained to him. Finally, after a year of complaints, low morale, and intervention from Bill's own supervisor, he made the decision to let the manager go. Rather than talking directly to the employee, he talked to others and waited until the end of the day to say, "Don't come back." The employee felt blindsided and the co-workers felt that their input had not been heard and that their jobs were not secure. Everyone had hurt feelings that lasted beyond the termination and it took much longer for that organization to recover.

Leading is not easy and courage is not offered in most leadership training classes. Most leaders learn about courage the hard way. Take "heart" this month and look for places in your life where the courage to communicate would make a big difference.