‘Say what you feel and feel what you say’An important aspect of your Communication!
■ concept of waterparks may have started If you aspire to become a leader albeit in your team, within your department and eventually to become the leader at the topmost level in an organisation in the form of a CEO (Chief Executive Officer) or the M.D (Managing Director), then, apart from various other qualities, the one rule or principle that you must try your best to inculcate within you and then start implementing it is the rule or principle of Courageous Communication.
Courageous communication
‘Saying what you feel…and feeling what you say’ and communicating with fearlessness will get you to make the most positive impression in the minds of your colleagues and even your seniors. I say this because, many people feel the fear to such an extent that they refrain from expressing what they feel intensely.
Let me highlight the importance of Courageous Communication through an interesting example that happened in my life.
I was told by my boss (senior manager) that some of us were selected to go to the United States on the invitation of a very big company.
We had to go there to see their production facilities, observe their new manufacturing techniques and eventually buy those machines from them. Within a few days we had reached USA at a place called Dallas. The next day my senior manager, my colleague and I were taken to the company headquarters.
There, we met their CEO and with him we went to look at their production facilities.
The entire day was spent in understanding their new and innovative and progressive ways.
My colleague and also my boss, both were not only impressed but also convinced that these machines and their ways of generating high quality products were necessary for our company in India. “So what do you think Mayur?” he asked me with a big smile.
Speak your mind
I knew for sure that my boss had already made up his mind.
He even asked my colleague what he felt and immediately my colleague responded with an excitedly toned positive affirmation.
“Sir, I think these machines will be great assets for us and will help us increase both the quality and quantity of production” he said to the boss. The boss again looked at me and seemed keen to know my reaction. This is where I began to experience mixed feelings and that is because I had a couple of serious doubts about the machines.
Although they seemed extremely innovative and fully automatic, I had a few queries and some reservations related to its extremely high pricepoints.
I was unsure what the reaction was going to be from my boss as he had already made up his mind to go ahead.
But, to my pleasant surprise he came close to me, smiled and just said one thing. “Mayur, next time please don’t wait till I am about to call our MD.
“Earlier, in their factory, when I asked you about your views regarding the machines you said you were happy with them.
“If you had shared your apprehensions and observations at that time, I would have immediately put them across to their production head and their CEO to seek their response and clarifications.
“Please remember Mayur, ‘COURAGE to COMMUNICATE’ is a very important and critical requirement if you want to become a leader and a successful one at that!”