Since I saw an article by Lucy Kellaway in the Financial Times a few days ago I’ve been thinking about it. I even tweeted it out so perhaps you’ve already read it. If not, here it is, “Management guff lands in China.”
I am in awe of Kellaway. She is a spectacular observer of things business and has quite the humorous way of skewering the obsurdities of many of the things she notices. Her writing sticks in your head, pops up at random moments, and gets you thinking about it all over again.
So it was with this article. Kellaway ruminates on the daftness, meaninglessness, and general moronic nonsense so often passed off as intelligent commentary in the business world. I’ve noticed the same thing and commented on it here and there, and yet, Kellaway got me thinking about it in a different way.
I’ve always thought that it was a sign of an inability to actually know what you’re talking about if you have to resort to incomprehensible banalities as though they’re breakthrough thinking. So much is just repackaging the same old ideas in new verbiage designed to obfuscate rather than enlighten.
It means nothing to anyone.
When I read this article it led to my thinking about it differently. I’m not sure exactly why, perhaps that’s part of the genius of Kellaway. Since reading her words I’ve moved beyond thinking of it as mere obfuscation to thinking that it’s actually quite detrimental to use such language.
Clarity of language leads to easy understanding and the ability of listeners…or readers…to immediately get it, and decide whether it makes sense or not. And herein lies the problem.
A leader, or a consultant, who speaks with clarity runs the risk of people actually learning how little they know and how poor their ideas, leadership, advice, and general thinking are. Better to be fuzzy and hide fear of exposure behind incomprehensibility. After all, the less clarity the easier it is for your words to mean anything. You don’t have to stand up and be counted for having an opinion for your words can be interpreted to cover all opinions…and thus offend few.
But clarity is different. It leads to clear understanding of what you said, what it means, and all who hear can easily form their own opinion of your idea, your thinking, and whether they want to follow or flee.
Of course, you actually need to have ideas and the confidence to express them. You need to have the personal strength to present these ideas while accepting the possibility of rejection by many. You need to be focused on leading and guiding and confident in your ideas while not worrying about those who wish to tred a different path.
You have to be willing to accept that not everyone will want to be on your bus. But those who hear…how far will you go when followed by those who understand fully and share your passion?