“One of the most critical steps that all leaders must take is to communicate the why,” says former Navy SEAL officer Jocko Willink.
I spoke to Willink about his new program on the streaming platform MasterClass. Over ten episodes of the class titled “Critical Leadership Training,” Willink covers a range of leadership tactics he brought from the battlefield to the boardroom.
Chief among those tactics is the ability to communicate effectively.
Although leadership communication is a broad topic, Willink believes one tactic is fundamental for both new and experienced managers: “The most important thing we have to communicate to teams from a leadership position is why they’re doing what they’re doing.”
Starting with “the why” can prevent a host of problems while making any team more agile, innovative, and successful.
For example, Willink told me about a company that was losing money for years. The CEO was excited to share the news that it had finally returned to profitability, but his employees didn’t respond as enthusiastically as he expected.
Willink quickly spotted the problem.
When the CEO announced the company’s turnaround, he told employees that profits would lead to higher shareholder dividends and better market share. Nobody jumped for joy because the CEO didn’t relate the news to team’s day-to-day experience. In fact, some employees connected “profitability” and “raising dividends” with working harder with fewer resources.
Willink suggested that the CEO ask himself the following question before holding another briefing or drafting a company-wide memo:
“Ask yourself why your team should share your excitement?”
Starting with why led to a very different message. The CEO explained that a return to profitability provides job stability, unlocks resources to support new ideas and projects, and offers individuals more opportunities to rise into leadership positions as the company hires more employees.
According to Willink, the same communication tactic applies to the battlefield.
“Let’s say I’m asking you to charge up a hill to get high ground and control the valley. When you commence the assault, you realize enemy bunkers are in elevated positions. If you continue, your platoon will wiped out.
Do you think, as a leader, I want you to keep charging?” Willink asked.
“Of course not,” I responded.
“Right. But if you understand the purpose of the mission—controlling the high ground—you might see another hill that your platoon can scale safely and accomplish the objective. Everyone on your team needs to know why they’re carrying out the mission.”
The world is changing too fast to rely on teams that only take instructions and complete tasks without understanding the big picture. When things fail to go according to plan—as often happens—instruction takers get stuck. But if they know the purpose of the mission, they’ll stand a better chance of pivoting and adapting when market conditions inevitably change.
By aligning everyone around a common mission—and making sure everyone understands it—you’ll be using a powerful leadership tool to keep teams motivated and engaged.
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