The Single, Best Thing You Can Do to Preserve The Life of Your Leadership

It is often said that the single, best thing you can do to preserve the life of your car is to change its oil every 5,000 miles whether you think it needs it or not.  This has been said to me by mechanics, service advisors, and friends. Just do it, it is the single best thing you can do for your car.

When I transfer that line of thinking to your Leadership, the question becomes, "What is the single best thing you can do to preserve the life of your Leadership?"  Leadership has many facets to it: understanding and owning the outcome, big picture thinking, emotional intelligence, empowering others, building trust, etc...  For all of the things that contribute to it, what would be the one thing that lubricates all of them and maintains your strength with the people in your sphere of influence?

I will assert that that one thing is this: speaking slowly enough so people can follow what you are saying.  Having been in situations where the person in the Leader position ran through what they were trying to communicate so fast, I was not able to comprehend his points as they laid them out, take notes, or converse on them.  I have seen this general effect on other people too.  

Forcing people to drink from your fire hose will only hold you all back because you are wasting time spewing information that they are neither absorbing nor comprehending.  They are not completing the communication process and cannot help it.

As communication is the driving force of Leadership, it stands to reason that doing it slowly enough to follow is the single, best thing a Leader can do to maximize the effectiveness of it.  It is the one thing that Leaders do constantly, so it is in their interest to make the most of it.  Please agree or disagree with me on this, and explain why.

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