Building a firmwide vision as managing partner

Once in a while it happens. The conversation that seems to start well, but ends badly. The sense of fracture that occurs within a team meeting which everyone can feel, but no one appears to know why. The presentation which was meticulously prepared but didn't make the positive impact that it should have done. We've all been there. It's easy to blame the timing/ mood/ lack of focus/ alternative agendas (take your pick). Yet, more often than not, it is much simpler and somehow harder and deeper than that.

This sense of dislocation can occur when there is a lack of shared intent, matched with insufficient rapport and an absence of common outcomes. Understanding this is a defining moment for anyone wishing to improve the effectiveness of their communication - whether in a business or social setting. How can we act on this knowledge to create positive experiences that energise us and enable people to work in harmony?

Intent

A good beginning is to examine our purpose or motive. What is it that we wish to achieve? If this is selfish and one-sided, it is hardly likely to attract the support of others, who will instinctively recognise the duplicity in our speech patterns, matter of address and body language.

Conversely, if our intent is authentically stated with clarity and openness, the chances are that others will pick up on this and be encouraged to engage in dialogue. This is often just the spark needed to light the fire of a productive discussion.

Rapport

Establishing a connection with others is fundamental to making any sort of progress, whatever the topic or issue. Creating a sense of mutual trust and understanding is undeniably necessary. Communication without rapport can be like dancing barefoot on broken glass. Every misunderstanding feels sharp and uncomfortable, making you wince and, at its worst, can be quite cruel.

Building rapport takes skill. It requires ego to be suppressed and judgement suspended. Point of fact, you must genuinely want to understand the perspective of others. It requires effort to build empathy and selflessness.

It is amazing what can happen when true rapport is in place. Tensions are reduced and barriers are lowered to different and new ways of thinking. It encourages creativity, boosts trust and improves credibility. Creating rapport requires generosity and sincerity. It isn't an act or a sales trick.

Outcomes

Sharing what we wish to achieve is essential. Clarity of intent and building rapport are simply stepping stones on the way to specific outcomes. Knowing what these are in advance makes it so much easier to create a common language around why we are doing something. It helps to focus effort and builds the case for specific action that others can evaluate, understand and choose to support. It can enhance and deepen team spirit.

Yet, frequently, people plough ahead, assuming the outcomes are clear to all, without investing the effort to explain what these are and why they matter. It's hardly surprising that tasks fail or projects come apart at critical moments if the team don't share a common vision of the desired outcomes.

So, next time there's a new initiative to launch or a project to unveil, stop. Take five minutes and focus on establishing the intent, building rapport and communicating the desired outcomes. Who knows - an even better result may arise and certainly a poor one avoided.

Defining moments are made this way.