Query: Where a unit leader is out of sync with the program, can you predict the reasons?
Response: The following causes or reasons are likely to be involved to one degree or another:
- no requirement by management for the position to meet a written job description, hence no effective guidelines of what was expected
- where a job description does exist, there is a reluctance or an inability to meet expectations
- the person never did really subscribe to the program, although the person thought so.
- the person did not read written communications provided; the purpose of which is to solicit interest, provide inspiration, develop uniformity, and to stimulate feedback, input, and participation. (In similar situations the reasons range from "I don't have time" to the generally unspoken "I can't be bothered" or "I'm really not interested.")
- Also, whether spoken or written, semantics can be a real unseen problem even for people specializing in 'communications'. We know, for example, that what one person says may be interpreted in a very different manner from that intended by the speaker or writer. Human interpretations and under- standings are based upon environment, education, experiences and generational differences. Normal voice inflections are lost in written communications and words in writing, whether on paper or email, can be very differently interpreted than when expressed face-to-face.
In most instances of a unit leader being out of sync with a program it's roots are in the past. It is not at all unusual for the person to have a totally different mental image of the situation than others. There is no inherent criticism intended or expressed here, only a statement of fact. To avoid leaders going in divergent directions it behooves the senior leader to make sure all of them are "singing off the same sheet."
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