Nine Second Bites

We’re conditioned to expect information in short, manageable sound bites. A great way to help yourself and your team is to leverage this approach by proactively creating sound bites to reframe challenges.

You want to help others manage during tough times by putting challenges in context. For example, if you’re in the midst of switching systems, rather than assume that everyone understands their heavy workloads are because of the switch, name the challenge so people understand this is a temporary situation. “As we’re switching systems, we will be working in parallel worlds, doing the same work in both systems,” and then reiterate it as issues come up. For example, “Well, in this parallel world situation this is something we’d expect.”

In pressure situations it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture. Keeping your teams’ focus on what’s actually happening helps them power through more efficiently and effectively.