I’m putting it out there, my #1 pet peeve of all time. Here it is and it’s only one word and that word is…..obvious. I think when we use that word, it can potentially make the other person feel dismissed or dim.

If I ask someone a question, and they respond with “Obviously, I’m going to do….”. It makes me ponder, what was so obvious about your answer?

Not only that, Obvious and Oblivious are separated by only two letters. Just like I call out in the video, sometimes we’re oblivious to the obvious.

And by being oblivious, we forget that words matter and perhaps we’re not as communicative as we think we are.

Action tip of the day

1. Take an inventory. When something doesn’t get done, or someone doesn’t understand, is it our communication that was lacking? As leaders, we ALWAYS start with ourselves. And oh by the way, the buck starts and stops with us.
2. If it isn’t our communication, then we go into coaching and questioning mode in order to move the situation, person, and/or team forward in a positive way.
3. If it is our communication, what do we need to do in order to become a better communicator? Or share our idea or vision in such a way that makes sense to the receiver? Be kind and gentle with yourselves and pick one meeting, person, or topic to focus on this week. Keeping in mind that words matter, look at your calendar, what’s the one area you can focus on to better your approach or communication.

Remember I mentioned your own Advisory Team in a previous post? These are folks that can give you honest and truthful feedback that you’ll actually take because you value their input. Do you have someone on your team like that? If not, find someone.

Here are some resources for you:

1. How to Win Friends and Influence People – classic and still a favorite. As recommended, read one chapter at a time and keep a journal. What are you doing that works? And what should you stop doing?
2. Visit the Leadercast website and invest in yourself and your leadership training.

Dionne is a 20 year sales veteran having built and scaled Inside Sales team from the ground up. She started her own firm, Inside Sales by Design, to work with companies wanting to build their Inside Sales Teams right the first time and transform their current Inside Sales Team into something greater. Dionne believes in and uses common sense, practical approaches to inspire leaders and teams to greatness.