man·tra ˈmantrə/ – a statement or slogan repeated frequently
Around Comfort Research I am kinda known for repeating myself. I am sure sometimes it is annoying and there might even be an eye roll or two…and I am ok with that.
I have many mantras that I use to help the daily, weekly, monthly, annual, and vision alignment. I use them frequently and change up the way they are delivered. And it works.
All too often I see organizations communicating a vision or direction once or even perhaps just documenting it, sharing said document, and then shoving that document away never to be seen again.
As leaders we assume everyone heard it, read it, saw it, digested it in the way intended, and is going to remember it. But let’s face it, everybody has stuff going on and your words whether written or spoken aren’t always the ones that are the most important to your audience at the time they are shared. Perhaps your audience was listening but they didn’t understand what you were communicating. And there is even a chance that **gasp** you did a terrible job communicating!
That is why I use mantras to communicate…just about everything. I use those mantras in multiple forms (written, verbal, visual) and perhaps every once in awhile even change it up and give examples along the way. Different people have different ways of learning and understanding info…give them a chance to digest it in the form that works best for them. And please, use examples of what the heck you mean!
Next time you have a vision, idea, concept, or direction that you need to align your team to, see if you can find a mantra and be annoying repeating yourself often until you see those eyes roll. Then you will know you finally did a decent job communicating it…then do it again
Comments