Yes, the title of this post is redundant, but this is my leadership lesson of the week: over-communicating. I learned this one eons ago, and it has been passed down by probably every guru that has ever guru’d. Tell them what you’re going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you told them.
But when I get neck deep in the work, I forget it. I send the emails out, or we have the Board meeting, or I have the conversation, and then it’s out of my head. I have checked that box. I did my job communicating. I forget that in a week or two I need to send the same message out. I forget that my staff will perform better when I share more information than I think is necessary.
It is particularly important when an association has a decentralized committee structure. A lot happens at the Board level that is assumed to have been communicated down to the Committees. And it was, it just wasn’t communicated enough. We need to remind our leaders (both staff and volunteer) that when you get to the top positions, the decision-making responsibilities are often dwarfed by the communication responsibilities.
Then we should tell them that again.
