After NFL quarterback Drew Brees set the record for total passing yardage, he was asked what play had been called for record-setting pass. He said, “Gun King Trips Right Terrapin 52 Sway All Go Special X Shallow Cross H Wide.
I am not kidding.
The coach selected the play, Brees understood it, and his team executed it.
Communication is funny. Brees didn’t need to use a language that you or I might understand. (Well, I’m assuming you couldn’t run the play either.) He spoke in a way that his team could follow.
Communication must be specific to the team we’re talking to. If I called out Brees’ play to my team, there would be laughter and a lot of guessing. “Are we shooting fish? What are terrapins anyway? Who sways 52?”
My team would have a blast if I tried to give them directions like Drew Brees. He set a record but my team would be hysterical. They certainly wouldn’t set any records.
I wouldn’t have communicated in a meaningful way for them. If my team is to make awesome strides, we need to understand each other.
We’ve been talking about Jonah. You know how he heard God and made his own decision. But we need to take a step back.
Jonah didn’t really understand God. He interpreted in his own way. But there are lots of ways to communicate, and God illustrates that for us.
What happened with Jonah?
Jonah didn’t understand what God planned to do.
God could have given up on him. There were other prophets at that time. God could have picked one of them when Jonah defied his play call.
Jonah could have escaped. He would have assumed he comprehended the entire situation and made the right choice. But running from God’s presence wasn’t the right choice. Jonah didn’t understand that. Had God let Jonah run away, Jonah would have misunderstood God’s motives.
So God made things a little uncomfortable for Jonah. Being swallowed by a big fish might be more than a little uncomfortable. God got Jonah’s attention instead of letting him run. God didn’t give up on Jonah. He found another way to communicate besides words.
When words don’t work, we have to look for other responses. We can’t give up.
God wanted Jonah to understand.
God communicated to Jonah in a way Jonah could understand.
That’s the key here: we often communicate with words but sometimes we need to do more. We need strategies and empathy for those we’re trying to connect with.
When words didn’t work, God communicated with Jonah through uncomfortable situations. He sent a storm. He sent a fish. He sent a worm. He used uncomfortable times to break through. Jonah didn’t like any of them but God didn’t let him miss out on the opportunity and the lesson.
Leaders do that. We could call a play like “Gun King Trips Right Terrapin 52 Sway All Go Special X Shallow Cross H Wide.” We could expect our team to get it or get out. They’d get out because they couldn’t comprehend our goals and our instructions.
We shouldn’t do that. [bctt tweet=”Leadership isn’t about making us look smart but about helping others succeed.”]Leadership isn’t about making us look smart but about helping others succeed.
Communication is key to leadership. We have to be able to connect with people we are leading. That means learning how to express ideas and goals in ways that our people will understand.
We do that by learning how others communicate. What they value. What gets their attention. What helps them understand better.
If the goal is to communicate our intentions, we have to learn to speak in many ways.
What are some ways that you’ve changed your communication methods with your team when they didn’t understand?
