In their defense, they are often smart and experienced. They know a lot about what works and what doesn’t. But how much joy is it to always be told what to do? How demotivating is it to rarely use your own ideas or perform tasks the way you would like to do them?
Do you think talking versus asking and listening is an important distinction? Does it really matter if someone likes to do most of the talking? If the answer isn’t clear, here are a few circumstances to consider:
Guess what improvement area people want help with most often? Communications. Why? Great communicators are the best leaders. They are the most influential and persuasive. They build the highest performing organizations. They make the most money.
What you say in your introduction will depend on many factors including your level of responsibility and what you were hired to accomplish.
If you or others in your circle of influence think efficiency is paramount, consider that being too efficient in communication can waste more time than it saves. Not providing enough detail or assuming people need to only hear something once often leads to misunderstandings.
