Continuing my series on Self Determination Theory and breaking it down further by exploring the fifteen behaviors researchers Deci and Ryan identified that leaders can demonstrate that would allow employees to satisfy their own need for competence, connection and choice- and motivate themselves. This post I look at : Sharing facts, data and knowledge. If you can do this well, your team has the context for making better decisions.
Who do you know who is good at this? What is it that they do? In reflecting about this leadership practice a few nuggets I have spotted:
Broaden your conversations to the environment your organization is in (competitor insight, regulatory changes, demographic shifts, tech trends impact you etc.) give them the big picture - often context is crucial to understanding what's going on internally
Schedule regular updates with your team on what your leader has been sharing with you
Provide insights into the projects you have been working on - especially the why behind those projects and how they connect to strategy
Offer the reports or dashboards (confidentiality allowing) you use to pulse check the business for your team to review and discuss with you
Speak about your own quest for knowledge and your journey to achieve it(your team might just give you some great tips!)
I also asked a few in my network about this and they came up with the following
"understand that everyone receives and processes information differently, so sharing the same information in multiple different ways that "speaks" to each different type of thinking. How do you present data in ways that speak the highly detailed, analytical person? How do you speak to the person who is strategic, creative, or holistic? How do you speak to the person who first thinks of how things will impact people in an organization? How do you communicate with those who think of process and planning? Share information in different ways - visually, written, in stories, in words. " Miriam L.
"...share data with context so people appreciate the relevance... Things to avoid- I don’t just share links on articles or forward them, don’t presume people read, from time to time I share summary or analysis based on my reading. Somya S.
"In most cases unless its very bad news, data, numbers and knowledge should be shared completely without omissions to avoid assumptions and grapevine." Rachit V
"the msg has to be as transparent as possible, often corporate leaders fall into the trap of corporate messages that sounds like BS' and insult the intelligence of employees" Rachel Y.
" (share) little and often would be one best practice, role modelling is another: what you show as important through your own behavior will be picked up on by the team, also understanding how the information fits into the big picture and for them in a personal level" Sam E.