I was recently pondering the new year and the tone a new year can bring. We as leaders set the tone holistically for the new year by our goals and objectives, but we have a more tactical role as well all year!
I went into a meeting recently and before it started someone said “this is going to be bad”. I had no pre-conceived notion about the meeting being good or bad. I have to admit, those words made me feel stressed and looking for anything to go wrong. The meeting wasn’t good, but I wonder if it was because of the meeting or the tone this person set?
Leaders need to control how meetings and other interactions go; they must set the tone. I am not saying there are never going to be contentious meetings, but if we know that to be true, we should set the correct tone. “I know this is going to be a tough meeting, but we can get through it as a team”. This tone is positive, as opposed to the first example where it was negative. The last thing a potentially tough discussion needs, is someone looking for more things to go bad.
So how do we as leaders set the tone?
– Address tough topics, before discussions start, with a positive message (this is going to be a tough meeting, but we can handle it)
– Start all meeting/discussions with a quick talk about what’s ahead (let me quickly align us before we get started)
– Defer to the positive (even tough conversations can have a positive aspect, find out what it is)
– Never leave people guessing (start discussions with the proper tone)
The bottom line; when we set the tone, we can facilitate more productive discussions.