Entrepreneurs: It’s Never Either / Or
by Miki Saxon
The other day I was asked, “When do you lead rationally vs. when do you lead emotionally?”
“Rationally” refers to communicating and appealing to those who are more cerebral, while “emotionally” means focusing more on feelings — it does not mean that one type is cold and the other overwrought.
People hear in different ways and it’s the responsibility of the speaker to communicate so that all can hear.
Over the years, I’ve been told many times by people in positional leadership roles that having to constantly alter how they present information is hard work and they believe that it’s up to the listener to understand what they’re saying.
What these bosses don’t understand is that if “they” can’t hear you “they” certainly won’t follow.
It’s not just a choice of rational vs. emotional, it’s understanding your audience and then speaking appropriately.
For instance, if you’re presenting plans for a new building to investors, business, the community and the media you might be inclined to concentrate on relative costs and ROI, since you want to win over the money crowd, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore the esthetics and ambiance.
First, you need to think about the different viewpoints and craft your presentation to include both types of information, even when it’s stuff about which you don’t care, that way you have it all at your fingertips.
During the presentation a money person suggests that construction costs could be lower by using smaller windows and lower ceilings and you know that this won’t fly with the community and business interests, since they’re concerned more with how the building will look and feel.
If you’ve done your homework, then you can show that higher ceilings and larger windows have been proven to increase worker productivity and the improved ambiance means higher rents.
Each group will focus on the information addressing their primary interest with the rest being relegated to backup position, but the important thing is that each heard something positive that directly addressed their concern.
Doing this is a habit you can cultivate and the fastest way to do so is to make yourself hyper aware of that to which your reaction is “who cares,” since that’s the information/viewpoint you’re most likely to skip.
While it’s not rocket science, it does require self-awareness supported by a driving passion to be heard.
While there’s never a guarantee that people will agree and follow, they will hear you and that’s where you need to start.
Image credit: Andy Morffew
