Forget the Why
Well, forget about it for just two minutes. There’s another equally critical question that we often neglect: the How.
The Why is essential. The reason you do what you do matters. That’s your inner drive — what you aim to accomplish. But the road is no less important. If we neglect the How, the Why will take us only so far. When we forget the How, we can lose our way to the Why.
Any meaningful achievement is challenging. Complex problems are part of any non-trivial goal. Challenges that are central to our Why are rarely frustrating. We understand that we need to face these challenges to move forward.
In contrast, when the way we take — the methods and practices we use — feels like sticks in our wheels, we know a better alternative exists. We understand these are not challenges inherent to what we are set to achieve; these challenges are nothing but noise — consistent, terrible noise. When the How feels like noise, it overwhelms us. It doesn’t matter how connected we are to our organization’s vision or our personal one; when we feel the day-to-day takes us back instead of helping us move forward, we are not engaged.
Our workplace communication is all too often one of these How details that frustrate us. It doesn’t matter how important we find a goal; if we get frustrated with every meeting and every email, we will burn out. When we feel like we’re going in circles, we tend to shut down, especially when we know there’s a better way. And there is a better way.
When it comes to workplace communication, the solution is as easy as it gets. To ensure our communication is engaging, motivating, and helping us move forward, we need the Why to be present in the How. Every meeting, email, and even our chats must be connected to some predefined mission. Scratch that; they must help us promote some predefined mission.
When a meeting ends with us being closer to our destination, we feel the How serves the Why. When an email helps us gain new insights connected to our goals, it is anything but frustrating. When chats are not loopy but help us create movement in the right direction, we enjoy them; we feel the How is helping us realize our vision.
The Why and the How must be integrated. When we overemphasize one at the expense of the other, we miss the opportunity to achieve our goals and enjoy the journey to them.
Unleash the power of Generative Communication and turn it into your superpower. I lead Generative Communication and Content-Shaping workshops and talks for teams and organizations.
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