Whether Republican or Democrat, millions of us interested in politics and world events watched the first Democratic debates this past week, and there are many more debates and speeches to come.
As someone who studies focus and attention science every day, I watch public debates not only for their content, but also for their form; listening to what the candidates say, and how they say it. I’m interested in the choice of questions and the enormous potential inherent in every opportunity to speak one’s answer. I’m fascinated by the messages that spill forth -- those that are focused, disciplined and sincere, and others that are careless, hollow or opaque.
As I listened to the discussion, one directive to the candidates stood out. Near the end of the second night of the debates, news anchor Lester Holt asked: “Now, each candidate will have a final chance to make their case to the voters, 45 seconds each.”
Forty-five seconds. In that time, state your most important priorities. Tell us what you will spend your time and passion achieving. Make us want to follow you.
Does your internal team know what your answer would be?
Do they follow a concise and compelling vision that you’ve given them? Could they authentically articulate your 45-second response for themselves?
Externally, do your customers embrace the simple message or brand promise you’ve delivered?
Leaders face this challenge every day – how to lead teams, inspire commitment and dedication, and focus people on what is important, not merely urgent.
The challenge is immense, as issues stemming from technology and 24/7 connectivity, poor executive communication, and even flawed office design and work location will impact, positively or negatively, people’s ability to focus on the right things at the right time and to embrace your message.
Many leaders of Fortune 500 companies have told me that they and their teams have never been more in contact and less in sync. Missing is a deep sense of community, high quality work, and a unified commitment to the mission. They watch as leadership messages fail to resonate amid shrinking attention spans.
But as we look again at those 45 seconds, the truth is you can actually say quite a lot in that time. Professional communicators and politicians know this, and they are rehearsed at packing in the maximum amount of powerful content into those 45 seconds. They practice often and out loud. They refine their words. They find what connects to the heart and to the mind. They internalize the message.
Are you as well prepared?
In my work I have observed that most leaders are deeply committed to their businesses; they know every facet and issue. They are thoughtful about their strategies, and passionate about their missions. But they rarely invest enough time and practice in articulating their vision in a way that employees or customers can understand or embrace.
Or they fail to realize that if they do articulate the vision well, they have not equipped their teams to do the same.
I recently spoke with a woman who is the Chief Marketing Officer of a major global financial services corporation. She said that when she first travelled to an office to meet with more than 200 new members of her team, one of the employees asked, “And who are you?” She asked if the employee had seen the major announcements of her advancement and the company’s shift in direction. No, he hadn’t. Corporate leadership thought their message was delivered, but it had not been absorbed – let alone celebrated – by the teams that most needed to know.
The surprised executive wondered, if this isn’t clear internally – and these are the external-facing teams who don’t know our overall strategy – what else are we not communicating well to our customers?
Just before Holt gave his 45-second directive to the candidates, reporter Chuck Todd asked for another focused response; this time the parameter was not about time, but scope: “You may only get one shot, and your first issue that you're going to push, you get one shot, and it may be the only thing you get passed -- What is that first issue for your presidency?”
This led to candidate responses of just a word or two: Gun control. Climate change, etc.
What is the answer for your business? What is the one thing you hope to achieve? Does your team know what you would say?
The most effective leaders have found a way to focus their teams on what matters most to the business’ success – and they know how to articulate this focus.
They are deeply thoughtful about what is important. They have analyzed every aspect of their work environment, and have learned how to preserve and grow their company’s most precious and dwindling resource: attention.
And they carefully search their heart, mind and motivation to harvest the most compelling and authentic words and messages that capture that attention. And then they say it often and out loud, usually in person.
As a result of these efforts, they inspire others to follow.
Make it a priority, before the next presidential debate, to practice the 45-second articulation of your priorities. And schedule time – free of distractions – to explore and answer the question: What is your focus?
