If clear, concise and powerful communication is needed in critical situations why do some of us fail to rise to the occasion and carry the message with the right tone. It can happen in the cockpit of an airliner, in marriages, and in the board room, and in a team. Someone sees the danger but is unable to communicate effectively, and the disaster happens.
Malcom Gladwell demonstrated this concept [book] with co-pilots who failed to speak powerfully enough to their captains in critical situations, and Korean Air, in the 90’s, had a string of crashes. One of the observations was that junior pilots were “so deferential to the captain that they failed to speak up before it was too late.” [1]
It goes both ways. Leaders need to listen to subtle messages even if they are not “well,” or “properly,” or “respectfully,” packaged. And subordinates need to have the courage to speak about what they see, feel, and perceive. Leaders need to prize accuracy, bluntness, and clarity at least as much as politeness, respect, and deference. Individuals need the maturity to be forgiving and patient to allow themselves to hear the unpleasant truth.
Does your organizational culture allow speaking truth to power? Do you have the mechanism to do that? How does Amazon, for example, support speaking truth to power, and how can even Amazon fails, sometimes, to head its own advice.
