How much context do you provide when requesting reports or information from your team? Do you include information on how it will be used, what decision will be made or what you are looking for or expect to see?
If you are like the vast majority of the leaders with whom I’ve worked, the answer is probably “not much”. The result is a cycle of requests, wrong information, new requests, etc until everyone is frustrated.
Context isn’t just important for ensuring that you get what you need. Your people need context in order to make sense of the work they do, they information they process, and the events that unfold in their work environment. How often do your people execute the task or transaction without achieving the overall goal? If this happens alot, they probably are lacking context.
Beyond making sense, context also helps individuals find meaning in what they do. Meaning is an important motivator for employees.
Despite the importance of providing context, people seem to be providing less of it. A simple test is to ask employees if they know how the information they are providing or the work they are doing is used. You’d be surprised at how few do.
Time, or more specifically, lack of time, is the typical reason given for not providing context. People tell me that it is more efficient to dash off a request than to explain the context behind that request. We are all busy, right. Sometimes it is more efficient to send a request. However, in most cases, those time savings are eaten away by inefficient or incorrect work.
I’ve noticed a more subtle enemy of context – electronic communication. As we’ve moved from paper, to e-mail, to text messages, to “twitters”, message length has shrunk significantly. And, when message length shrinks, the first thing to go is context. Take a look at the most recent emails or text messages you’ve received. Most will be very transactional in nature. This isn’t a bad thing. Text messages and email are excellent vehicles for sending transactional/tactical messages. The issue occurs when leaders don’t find other ways to provide the broader context. We are taught that meetings must be focused on decision-making. That’s good. Some meetings should be. But where do people receive the “big picture” in order to make good decisions in those meetings? It’s not in their email or text messages. It’s probably not in the voice-mails they receive during the day. It’s certainly not in the day-to-day transaction they perform.
Providing context requires a time commitment. However, more efficient work, higher quality work, and better achievement of goals typically offsets that investment.
