TBL: Leaders Are Always Onstage. Act Accordingly
You need to choose your words carefully, because you never know when something you say will be taken the wrong way or out of context
One of the toughest pieces of advice I got came from a Board of Advisors member several years ago. It seemed to cut directly against one of my personal core values: Respectful Authenticity.
I have always preferred to be real with everyone at my company. But at that time, the business was growing quickly, and I wasn’t able to get to know everyone as closely as I’d been able to when we were just a few people. I was learning that sometimes my comments or communications were getting misconstrued, and seemingly harmless statements or casual comments would become points of confusion I’d need to address later.
Seeing this, the board member approached me and shared feedback that as the leader of the company, I had to act as if I was always on stage. I couldn’t just say whatever I thought or talk to people as peers or friends. When you’re a leader, you’re one of the faces of the company, which means your face suddenly doesn’t belong only to you.
It’s similar to the policy for all characters at Disney World. When they are in the park, they are on stage and can’t break character. When they are backstage, out of public view, they can.
I was reminded of this advice a couple weeks ago, when I interviewed top executive coach Alisa Cohn as part of The Better Leader Webinar Series. She told a story from her coaching career about a CEO and a company party.
As Alisa tells it, the CEO was at the company holiday party, which took place at a bar a block away from the office. When praising the planning of the event, the CEO remarked that the only way the party could be more convenient is if they held it in the parking lot.
Months later, the CEO was surprised when his team asked if he wanted them to order a tent for the upcoming holiday party, which they were planning to host in, you guessed it, the parking lot. A simple casual remark had become a company initiative.
This is the reality of leadership. You need to choose your words carefully, because you never know when something you say will be taken the wrong way or out of context. Here are three best practices to keep top of mind when communicating as a leader.
