Empathetic Transparency and Empowered Advocacy
The other day, I was reading Do Things That Don’t Scale by Paul Graham, which reignited my love for long-form content.
I have always admired Paul Graham’s writing style, because of how thoughtful he is in the content he shares. He writes thorough essays, edited by friends and trusted advisors, to explore new ideas.
With the rise of TikTok and LinkedIn posts, short-form content is reigning supreme. But, there is a depth to long-form content that offers unmatched value. In long-form content, you have the ability to enter a genuine conversation with your audience. The entirety of the piece is available and the idea is fully explored. This gives the reader or listener the opportunity to engage with the concept in a manner that a 6-second video will always struggle to match.
In my opinion, how one arrives at an idea, the way in which they communicate it, and how their beliefs evolve over time are all nuances of information that are crucial to understanding the person with whom you are engaging. Blog posts, podcasts, and YouTube videos provide a space for these important, layered conversations.
Recently, I have been focused on communication as a core tool for organizational culture. With the rise of the millennial workforce, mission and purpose are more important than ever. Companies win awards for their benefit offerings, and are crowned “Best Place to Work” for fun team settings. But no matter how strong the mission, no matter how fun the team dynamic, I believe the quality of conversation and the daily tasks of the job are predominant in gauging the daily satisfaction of the employee group.
Metcalfe’s law is a concept used in computer networks and telecommunications to represent the value of a network. A great expression of Metcalfe’s law is a network of fax machines. When only two fax machines are connected, the network is limited in its communication potential. Only those two devices are empowered to exchange information. Fortunately, every fax machine added dramatically increases the power of the network. 5 machines connected actually offers 10 unique channels.
As an organizational rule, I believe every role, regardless of their title, plays the role of the leader in certain instances and the supporter in others.
When operating as the leader, you are helming the task at hand. You often have more information on the topic being discussed and generally are responsible for the outcome of the initiative.
When operating as the support role, you are providing your time, attention, or resources to ensure smooth delivery of the task at hand. Because it is not your core responsibility, you often have less background information on the task, and need clearer guidance on how to help the initiative be successful.
When operating as a leader, I encourage you to utilize empathetic transparency. When you communicate what you are asking for clearly, and act as an accessible resource during the onboarding phase, you save time, money, and headaches down the line.
Ask yourself:
What information may be bottlenecked with me that is foundational to understanding and/or delivering what I am requesting?
How can I create scalable materials and processes to share this information in advance and equip my support roles with the information they need to be successful?
How will I hold space both in my initial request and during the execution of the request to ensure smooth delivery?
Note: There is no such thing has an unnecessary question when a lack of information is impeding the delivery of a request. However, there is a difference between unclear communication and problem solving. If it is a problem that requires further investigation, the leader may certainly direct the support role to further investigate. The intent of communication transparency is to reduce unnecessary investigation and problem solving that has already occurred and was ineffectively communicated.
When operating a support role, the name of the game is empowered advocacy.
Often, we assume that people know what we are saying when we make subtle requests, and are shut down or disappointed when they don’t react as we hope. The truth is, people are preoccupied with their own internal narratives, and subtlety is missed much more often than it is recognized. When in a conversation as a support role, it is essential that you clearly communicate any questions you have that will inhibit you from doing the task at hand.
For example:
If you feel under-resourced to perform the task — you must say so.
If you feel under-informed to perform the task —you must ask questions.
If you feel confused on next steps — you must ask for support.
If the leader has created an empathetic and transparent space to hold these conversations, and the supporter is empowered in advocating for themselves in the conversation, then both parties enter a free flowing energy exchange where ideas are quickly and effectively communicated. Both parties leave the conversation energized and empowered.
If the leader has not created this space, the supporter will feel disempowered, while also being less likely to seek key information or support in the future. This disintegrates communication over time.
Similarly, if the supporter is not advocating for themselves clearly, the leader will be uninformed of the issues at hand, and unable to provide the assistance that the supporter needs. This creates a muted environment of unawareness which inhibits either role from functioning properly.
Using Metcalfe’s law to exemplify, a fluid conversation is where one can both give and take. Like a fax machine, it is having the ability to send and receive. If a fax machine is able to send faxes, but unable to receive, it actually weakens the entire network. Similarly, if a fax machine is able to receive messages, but unable to send messages, it is similarly disadvantaged.
In an entirely connected structure, using the example of 5 fax machines, one errant fax machine can actually disrupt 4 streams of communication. Holding all frequency equal, that’s 40% of the communication of the organization!
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