Idea 11: Briefing
Briefing or instructing a team is a basic leadership function, usually conducted face to face. A briefing is an opportunity to:
- Create the right atmosphere.
- Promote teamwork.
- Get to know, encourage and motivate each individual.
Before and after any briefing session, in order to ensure that the question of ‘what is my role in all this?’ (which will be on everyone's mind) is answered, you need to ask yourself these questions:
- Does every individual know exactly what his/her job is?
- Does each member of the team have clearly defined targets and performance standards agreed with me?
- Does each person clearly know at the end what is expected of him/her and how that contribution or that of his/her team fits in with the purposeful work of everyone else?
Communicating (speaking and listening) is crucial to get right in any briefing and it centres on the task, team and individual needs that should be addressed.
The effective speaking attributes of a successful briefing are to be:
- Prepared.
- Clear.
- Simple.
- Vivid.
- Natural.
- Concise.
Can you think of one example from your own experience of briefings that fitted this description – and maybe one that fell far short of it?
Showing confidence is always important, for example when explaining the task and the role of the team/individual, and especially in an initial briefing or where there is low morale.
You don't have to be a great orator, but do put your message across in a clear, compelling and positive way. In ancient Athens, Demosthenes once said to a rival orator:
You make the audience say, ‘How well he speaks!’ I make them say, ‘Let us march against Philip [king of Macedonia]!’
Can I speak in a way that moves the team to take the desired action?
At all levels of leadership responsibility there are individuals who need to be briefed in clear and simple language. Such occasions – team, organizational or individual – are not to be seen merely in terms of the task. They are also opportunities for you to create the right atmosphere, to promote teamwork, and to get to know, encourage and motivate each individual person. There will be more suggestions on all of these areas later in the book.