Are You a Ranter? You Might Be Sabotaging Your Team’s Success
“Just shut up, Eric.”
That’s the voice inside my head.
It may sound harsh, but that voice is protecting me. It’s the voice of wisdom and experience.
And it knows that sometimes, I’m better off not saying anything at all.
***
I am—and maybe you can relate—a ranter by nature.
Our leadership team is discussing an issue.
I care deeply about the issue.
I have a strong opinion about how we should address it.
And I am pretty darn sure I’m right.
It starts with a few remarks.
But suddenly, the train of my thoughts gathers steam.
I enter a fugue state.
15 minutes later, I stop talking.
If I wasn’t in a trance of my own making, here’s what I would see…
…my team’s eyes literally glaze over
…or, if they’re on Zoom, a sudden flurry of productivity in their inboxes
They aren’t listening.
And I can’t blame them.
***
Here’s the thing, though.
More times than not, a ranting CEO is speaking truth.
They’re passionate, they’re knowledgeable, and they’re usually right.
But they aren’t sharing their insights in a way that breaks through.
They’re fired up, and their thoughts come out jumbled.
It puts their team into shutdown mode, but they are missing out on value.
So when I tell myself to shut up, it’s only part of the solution.
When I sense a rant coming on, I try to stop the train before it leaves the station.
And instead, find a more effective way to share my thoughts.
Because my team does need to hear them.
So does yours.
Here are the questions I ask myself to clarify my thinking:
What specific problem do I have? (Diagnose the problem as much as possible)
Do I already have a specific solution I want to recommend?
Is what I am saying clearly communicated somewhere? (The answer is yes about 0 out of 100 times)
Have I/we trained and communicated this thing over and over again? (Never, almost never)
Do I have enough clarity, or am I using my team’s time to think out loud? (This is okay in the right settings, but you need to know your audience)
Because here’s what happens if you don’t get clear on exactly what you’re saying to your team:
- Nothing. Nothing will happen.
OR
- Your team goes running in 5 different directions. Everyone interprets you differently, and you wonder how the company ends up disjointed and misaligned.
***
To be clear, you don’t have to own telling your team exactly how to do their jobs (especially not at the senior leadership level).
You own telling them exactly what you want and what the company needs.
So: less ranting. More laying out the vision.
And if all else fails in the heat of the moment, use this rule of thumb: if you’ve been talking for two full minutes, you’re probably done.
Do your homework.
Pick your battles.
Share your ideas clearly and succinctly.
When you do all that, it becomes much easier for your team to translate your vision into action.
