Clarity is more important than you think. measure twice, cut once
If you work for an organization larger than one….
If you belong to a group of more than one….
If you worship, play in a band or sing with more than one….
If you hangout within a group of you guessed it …. more than one…
If you date… well not more than one but if you date..
This blog might be something to consider and think through before flippantly blowing it off as just another leadership blog.
I have bee doing ministry full time 12 years. I have worked in the automobile industry for 10 years, worked in a quality control lab for 5 years. I have been in various trainings (both corporate and religious) for most of my adult life.. One thing that rings true within all these is the importance of communication… specifically clarity in communication.
I would like to share some fails (learning opportunities) I have experienced and a quick comment on what I would do differently if I could push the redo button.. Please feel free to cry with me, or laugh with me but definitely think through them.
1. We were having a special dinner for our students ( about 40) and it has been a formal dinner… unless you are a new student to the ministry or to our church (about 1/3 of the students). They all assumed it was a dance and the boys are freaking out since they don’t dance and one of the girls dad’s was that they would be dancing with his daughter (yeah that was me lol).
Clarity would be to explain up front in a demo video, announcement or clearly marked flyer for the students to see and a nice email to inform the parents in advance (like three weeks prior to sign ups).
2. Working in the QC (Quality Control) lab and needing to run a test on parts. The bosses said run xyz tests without any paper work due to the urgency of the need.. the test required more parts than given,…. yeah that one ended bad..
Clarity would have been meeting in the front (weeks out) to seek the appropriate paper work and discuss the needs in order to have the correct equipment and parts to run the test without issues.
3. A leader wants to send out annual review (which again is changing format and function) and feels it is best to encourage the staff with an email. The email would be encouraging ad brief..
Clarity would be to host a quick encouraging meeting with the team, letting them know their value and a new review format is coming via email in the next few days. Followed up by a thank you note or even a free drink coupon to the local coffee house.
4. Group is on a mission or work project trip, and they call in updates and reports throughout the week… only to find out the person receiving the information didn’t share it with other family members of those on the trip… Yeah that was an oversight.
Clarity would be to have a phone chain which includes all parties but only requires one phone call per person and the final person calls the first person on the list… this allows for two things… missed calls and everyone being informed. It also provides important work for the at home team to do in supporting those out doing the mission work (or whatever they are traveling for).
Each miss I either created or experienced didn’t have to be a fail, in fact it could have been totally avoided by a simply process of clarity. It is important to take the needed time to think through the what ifs, the hey I didn’t think about thats and of course the ever present ohhhhh not good man moments. Those things some call Murphy’s law happen. I would say they are more over sights than missed chances or human nature.
I can be the first to admit, I don’t like administration. If I could join a support group I might.. well the fact that it wouldn’t last long since none would be organized enough to keep it running….. Back on track…. I just really don’t appreciate notes, the prep work or anything that looks like it but without it two things will happen… You will forget something important and you will get fired or killed.
So please take some time to think through your tasks. I would make the plans, take a couple hours break and review it to see it you are meeting all the tasks with clarity. Then have a trusted friend, coworker etc review them to see if it all makes sense and doesn’t leave unneeded questions.
It might take getting a new routine in order but I am sure the adjustments will benefit you in the long run.
My brother (the carpenter) always says… measure twice cut once…. why not apply the same idea to other aspects of your life.
It's just my junk 