Leading Through Mixed Signals

Imagine telling Gunner to stay while everything else about me communicates movement.

My feet shift.

My body turns.

My attention goes elsewhere.

Then I become frustrated when he moves.

What did I actually communicate?

The word said one thing.

Everything surrounding it said another.

Organizations send mixed signals constantly.

“We trust you to make decisions.”

But every decision requires three approvals.

“People are our greatest asset.”

But development disappears whenever budgets get tight.

“We value accountability.”

But high performers are allowed to violate standards because their numbers are good.

“We want innovation.”

But mistakes are punished.

Teams learn quickly which message to believe.

Usually, behavior wins.

Culture is built less by what leaders announce than by what leaders repeatedly reinforce, reward, ignore, and tolerate.

Look for places where your organization’s words and behaviors may be competing.

What do you say is important?

What gets rewarded?

What happens when someone violates the stated expectation?

Where do policies contradict the empowerment you say you want?

Mixed signals create hesitation because people spend energy trying to determine which rule is real.

Clear leadership removes that unnecessary guessing.

If you want initiative, create room for initiative.

If you want accountability, demonstrate accountability.

If you want collaboration, do not reward people solely for individual victories.

Gunner cannot follow two conflicting commands at the same time.

Neither can our teams.

Where might your team be receiving one message from your words and another from your actions?