#379: From Headlines to Reality: Teaching Leaders to See the Whole Picture
A leadership lesson from the fake news! What did we learn by reading the headlines from the assassination attempt? Question everything!
I planned to send an article about building a new business culture, but this weekend's breaking news prompted me to take this approach. I want you to closely examine these headlines published on ‘news’ sites (and I use that term loosely) immediately following the incident.
Look at some of the key terms they used:
Loud Noises
Popping
Falls
Startles
Escorted
As blood is dripping down his face, it’s very clear to anyone that something catastrophic has happened. Yet, we don’t see the words shots or assassination attempts. These so-called mainstream media sites are purposely trying to create an image of a man who is scared of loud noises. They are editorializing data. Unfortunately, millions of Americans will read this headline and not go further to discover the truth. They have this image burned into their minds and will remember it as fact.
Why am I pointing this out in a business blog? I try to find lessons in current events because it is easier to reinforce the underlying messages in leadership.
Leadership lesson - Question everything.
I am one of those rare students who loved statistics. I have taken several courses during my studies, and my favorite quote from a professor was:
“Statistics don’t lie, liars use statistics.” And for historical accuracy, the full quote — “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics” — has been attributed to Mark Twain
When the editors of the news sites are called in front of their publishers, they can say with a straight face that these headlines are accurate. That is what a reporter is supposed to do, right? It is a journalist's job to report what happened, and in each case above, it is true. Unfortunately, people, in general, have very short attention spans. They take these bite-sized information nuggets and embed them in their long-term memory, and impressions are made.
Snapshot management:
During a recent coaching appointment, my client looked out his office window and saw one of his trucks coming in early. He commented that the operations manager must have screwed the schedule up again and immediately became visibly angry. That impression was maybe 10 seconds long, and he was ready to call the Ops manager and read him the riot act without having all the facts.
With some urging, I told him to wait a few minutes to calm down. A minute or two later, another truck pulled in, and there was some activity around both trucks as equipment was moved from the 2nd one to the 1st, and off they went. What happened? The 2nd truck accidentally took the equipment that the 1st truck needed to complete their job. The ops managers had solved a problem before they got out to the job site, saving a half day’s lost work, but the CEO was ready to fire him.
I call this snapshot management.
As this picture shows, if you judge based only on what you can see at that moment, you aren’t looking at the full scene. Life and leadership are not managed by snapshots; they are motion pictures. You need to see the beginning, middle, and end before you snap to judgment or make an impression that changes your mind.
Question everything.
When you get into a predicament that makes you uncomfortable, like the truck coming back early, wait a few seconds. Let the movie play out before you snap to judgment. You can’t jump to conclusions before you have all the facts.
When you read a headline, understand that the writer is trying to inform you of what they want you to learn. You must look deeper into the story or read more than one opinion.
As an organization leader, you need to gather information from trustworthy sources before making decisions. It’s imperative that you have a group of people around you who give you the facts and separate their opinions. We want to hear their ideas, but we don’t need ideas presented as facts.
Question everything.
It doesn’t mean you don’t trust people if you question everything. You seek facts, information, data, and unfiltered news to make the best decision. At some point, you will not be able to gather more info and have to make the best decision with the information you collected. Getting others' opinions and mixing your gut feelings and leadership intuition is okay. But don’t jump to conclusions when you see one piece of data that doesn’t look flattering.
Question it.
Gather more data and let the data guide you, not your emotions.
If you are having trouble managing by emotion instead of facts and data, that is where a coach will help you. Whether it’s the Kole Performance Group or another industry mentor, find someone who can force you to watch the movie instead of looking at snapshots. It is hard work today but can lead to a better tomorrow.
Editorial:
As we approach this year’s election, question everything. Use multiple sources to get important information. Be cautious when evaluating information, and question whether it is opinion or fact. Be like a Missourian, the show-me State.
What is the writer hiding? What is their agenda? Do they write equally compelling stories on both sides of the aisle? Or is it slanted in one direction? When the truth comes out, does the publication say they got it wrong and apologize to their audience?
Every piece of information you see has bias built in. The job of a leader and a voter, is to sift through it, and make an informed choice. What can you do differently in the future when it comes to making a good decision.