Feeling

CEOs Need To Say It And Say It Again, With Clarity, Honesty And Feeling

No skill is more important right now than the ability to communicate effectively.

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Many leaders are identified, at least within their organizations, if not by the outside world, by a particular phrase or saying that in some way captures their essence.

While former President Ronald Reagan—widely acclaimed as The Great Communicator—seemed to have powerful one-liners for every occasion, few were more to the point than “Trust but Verify.” For former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, as I noted in another column, it was “Performance with Purpose.” And for a highly successful nonprofit entrepreneur it was this simple rule: “No Surprises.”

“No surprises” is especially relevant today with leadership teams widely scattered and many managers and employees working from home. Surprises in such circumstances come easy. Wanting to minimize them makes sense.

Leaders need to realize that many of the people who depend on them are fearful, not just of Covid-19, but fearful that their jobs will disappear and never come back; fearful that they won’t be able to pay their bills; fearful of the unseen struggles that might lie ahead. Remember the words of President Bill Clinton: feel their pain. The boss’s words can ease their fears.

Leaders today don’t have to be charismatic, larger-than-life personalities, accomplished orators (most of us aren’t), or have great speechwriters (most of us don’t). They need to be effective communicators: real, truthful, transparent—and perhaps more so than at any time in recent memory, empathetic.

Indeed, research I’ve been doing (with an able helping hand from research assistant Sean Werfel) suggests a leader’s most valuable asset right now might just be the ability to personally connect with others. And one of the best ways to do this is by showing them your human side.  

Show them you have a heart. Without making it about you, open up a bit about your life, feelings and struggles. This builds connections. If you’re talking to customers or clients—one-to-one or in a small group setting (it doesn’t matter whether it’s in person or online)—ask how they’re doing before asking how their business is doing. If you’re talking to colleagues, do the same: Ask how they’re coping with things and how their families are doing before getting into shop talk. Being a good listener and showing that you care goes a long way.

Be truthful. Everyone today has a nose like a dog; they can smell B.S. From 10 feet away. The more you tell the truth the more people will listen. This means, as Werfel found, you need to lay out the negatives as well as the positives. Yes, it’s incumbent that you try to give people hope; but you can’t inspire hope without honesty.

Repeat yourself; become a broken record. For 140 years, the makers of Ivory Soap have been telling consumers that it’s 99 and 44 one-hundredths percent pure. They’ll probably be saying it still 140 years from now. Even when you think you’ve said something enough, say it again and again. Repetition is one of the keys to affirmation.

If you don’t have anything of substance to say, especially now when so much uncertainty exists, discuss process: how things are being decided. Others want to know. They don’t want surprises either.

Finally, to whatever degree possible, go public. In-person Town Hall meetings are no longer feasible. Besides, they often weren’t that effective anyway. That’s why they were often derided as dog-and-pony shows: performance, over substance. Fortunately, we now have technology such as Zoom to meet personally with colleagues, employees and the public—from a safe distance—wherever they are. Use it.

Many employees consider what they read about their employers in external publications (whether online or in print) more credible than what they read in internal newsletters. So use the media whenever possible to communicate with employees and other critical stakeholders. This includes social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Instagram. Few senior executives use social media more effectively than Ray Dalio, co-chairman and co-chief investment officer at Bridgewater Associates, and Brent Saunders, former CEO of Allergan. Check them out; they make it look easy. They are constantly signaling what they see as important, and I’m sure many employees, investors, customers and others follow what they say.

Leadership can be a challenge even in the best of times. Today’s turmoil and uncertainty, and not knowing how long they will last, make it even more so. No skill is more important right now than the ability to communicate effectively.

Julianne Hough Is "Feeling Super Loved" At Birthday Pool Party With Ex Brooks Laich

It's her birthday and she'll party how she wants to.

Julianne Hough soaked up the sun on Saturday afternoon to celebrate her 32nd birthday. Even though her birthday was on Monday, July 20, the actress kept the party going into the weekend.

She enjoyed a fun-filled pool day with her nearest and dearest, which included her ex, Brooks Laich, and best friend, Nina Dobrev. On Instagram Stories, both Nina and Julianne shared behind-the-scenes pics and videos of the low-key party, which was a total "birthday surprise" for the 32-year-old star.

For the sweet celebration, Julianne opted for something cute and casual. She rocked a checkered orange dress that had a plunging neckline, cheeky waistline cutouts and an open back. The birthday girl accessorized with a colorful flower crown and gold dainty hoops.

"Feeling super loved right now," the Dancing with the Stars judge captioned one of her Instagram Stories.

Nationals' Bullpen Provides That Old Familiar Feeling For A Day

Hanging over the MLB season before it began and once it did was one powerful question: What was the threshold for stopping it?

It appeared high. Very high. From Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred to the players, the decision to play long appeared the only option they considered. Whether they “should” play was never part of negotiations, or thought processes or public banter. It was only “how” will they force their way back onto the field.

Monday morning may change that stance.

The Miami Marlins have a full-blown outbreak, according to multiple reports. Almost 40 percent of their active players tested positive for coronavirus. Monday night’s game at Miami between Baltimore and the Marlins has been cancelled. The Marlins remain in Philadelphia, where they unabashedly played a game yesterday despite multiple positive tests during the weekend.

“We never really considered not playing, from my standpoint,” Don Mattingly said Sunday night. “We’re taking risks every day. Every day we’re taking risks. That’s what the players all around the league are doing.”

Monday’s game between the Yankees and Phillies, where New York would use the same visiting clubhouse Miami was in on Sunday, has been postponed “while Major League Baseball conducts additional COVID-19 testing.”

The Nationals are scheduled to start a three-game series in Miami on Friday. Obviously, that trip is in jeopardy.

RELATED: ORIOLES VS. MARLINS CANCELLED FOLLOWING COVID-19 OUTBREAK

So, the question is if the season is also now teetering -- again. Manfred has power from the March 26 agreement between MLB and the MLBPA to suspend or stop the season, should he see fit. On July 2, Manfred went on The Dan Patrick Show and was asked what it would take to shut down the season.

“I think the way that I think about it, Dan, is in the vein of competitive integrity in a 60-game season,” Manfred said. “If we have a team or two that’s really decimated with a number of people who had the virus or can’t play for a significant period of time, it could have a real impact on the competition and we’d have to think very, very hard about what we’re doing.”

A few things to unpack there.

Foremost is the focus of Manfred’s concern. It’s not health. It’s whether bad health will result in major-league games between what equate to Triple-A teams because the virus rampaged through a clubhouse or two. This is his concern in what is already, as Stephen Strasburg said Saturday, a mess of a season.

Second, he again does not define the threshold for cancellation. Which means it’s subjective, and based on the conversations and comments already coming from those involved, the bar to stop is extremely high.

They don't want to stop. In fact, most, if not all players, wanted to start earlier so they could play, and earn, more. Howie Kendrick is among those who made the point when Summer Camp workouts were underway. He was asked what he thought of the brutish, three-month negotiation process between the players’ union and league which proved little more than both sides are stubborn as hell. His answer was that he thought they should have been playing more baseball since the pandemic was an issue in June just as it was in July.

A coming validation will be a generalized premise: “We expected something like this…” It’s broad-stroke terminology, applicable to so many issues. Yes, it’s a pandemic. Yes, things will be abnormal. Yes, there will be bumps.

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But the size of the problems continues to rise and those involved are stepping toward willful ignorance.

The season lasted one weekend before a team on the road had to quarantine in place. Before a clubhouse had to be “fumigated” so it appeared reasonable to re-enter. Before two games were stopped because of the coronavirus. Even before play started, Canada told the Toronto Blue Jays to go try this experiment somewhere else.

The Nationals, already hosting Toronto for “road” games this week, either will not be playing at all this weekend or will be doing so in Nationals Park. It’s difficult to see any scenario where traveling to Miami to play in less than a week is an acceptable risk. Florida is aflame with the virus. Now, the Marlins are traveling around with it. Why would anyone go there or near them?

But, it was also difficult to see how MLB could come to a conclusion foisting a travel-laden season into the mix amid a pandemic was the expedient thing to do. Yet, it did so in self-aggrandizing fashion.

Monday, Major League Baseball began a transition from self-appointed salve for the pandemic to spread contributor. The questions are if they realize this and what they are going to do about it. If the last three months are any indication, the answer is they don’t and won’t be taking drastic action any time soon and perhaps not until it’s too late. They’ll call it “expected” before yanking the ropes, yelling “heave” and dragging the giant rock an inch further through the sand.

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