Liar, liar, pants on fire...

An old boss once told me that the difference between a good manager and a great one is his or her ability to communicate. With that in mind, my consulting partner and I just finished recording several new online training courses for managers and supervisors and they’re all about the knowledge and skills needed to communicate effectively. One of the basic premises of these courses is that what we say and do are clear and consistent – that’s how trust is formed.  So, it was particularly poignant that we were recording these courses in the midst of all the campaign communications that were occurring. Most of those were highly partisan and appeared to be less about the truth than about staying on point. Leaders in all facets of our lives should know that communications and actions must be clear and truthful and that there are consequences if they’re not. Maybe politicians can get away with partisan obfuscation, but company leaders are rightfully held to a higher standard: their words and actions matter. In business, employees and customers are always attuned to the clarity and truthfulness of what they’re being told and, when either is missing, they vote with their feet. If you want your employees and customers to stick with you, remember to clearly say what you mean and mean what you say today.

Andrew Carnegie (1835 – 1919): Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist who made his fortune in the steel industry and gave 90% of it away to charity