"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
"I believe that managers need more ways to convey the images and impressions they carry inside of them."
Henry Mintzberg (f)
His cousin and follower John had been put in prison under questionable charges. He received a message from him; actually it was more a question: "Are you the one who was to come?' Centuries of tradition and mountains of hope hinged on that one question, perhaps even a little doubt. Jesus answer was fast and straight to the point (at least to the inhabitant of that place and time): "Go and tell John the things which ye hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good tidings preached to them.' (13)
He knew what his message was. Every hearer even remotely familiar with the Thorah would recognize that quote from one of their greatest prophets, Isaiah (14) , and consequently know that Jesus indeed claimed to be the one to come.
It was the early morning of his last day. Already he had been betrayed by his friend and close associate Peter, been mocked by the mob and accused of most serious crimes. Then one window of opportunity opened, a legal issue. Jesus being from Galilee, Pilate saw a nice way to get rid of responsibility. Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee, was not only responsible for administering justice to the Galileans, but happened to be in town. Jesus was sent over.
Herod actually was quite happy to see his famous fellow countryman; a miracle from his hands would just be the thing for the upcoming Pessah feast. He proceeded with a long list of questions.
But Jesus answered him nothing.
The chief priests present used this unexpected opportunity to again accuse him 'vehemently'.
But Jesus answered nothing. (15)
He knew when and when not to answer. Regardless of the consequences.
It was a huge gathering, perhaps one of the largest he would address. Actually, this one sermon would be the one that would be the most often quoted, and - not quite unexpectedly - the one most often misunderstood. So much for the notion that we should try to communicate in a way that cannot be misunderstood.
It was an extraordinary piece of communication by all standards. There was this one piece of teaching that was of particular importance to him. He said it out directly, used examples from familiar territory. But he wanted to instill a thought process going beyond; a thought process coming to its own conclusions. So he asked an innocuous question: "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?' (16)
This stopped all possible rhetorical assaults against his teaching cold. He did know how to get the message across effectively. Even those not in favour admitted that he taught as one having authority (as opposed to the scribes' teaching). (17)
Jesus knew what to communicate, when and when not to communicate, how to communicate.
Communication has become the buzz word of the past decades, sometimes losing the perspective that it's not just the process that counts, but that some content may be useful, too.
Birkenbihl (g) agrees that the ability to communicate is one of the three major character traits of a leader, the other two being the need for power (see also McClelland (h) ) and flexibility.
The "what" of communication leads directly to the question what the company is about, in its own view, but more importantly, in the customer view. Mission and Vision Statements have been created galore, following Covey's admonition that "mission statements are also vital to successful organizations".
He does qualify though that in order 'to be effective, that statement has to come from within the bowels of the organization.' (i) If in any case a future business researcher tries to correlate the existence of a mission statement to the future success of that company, a failure to be able to show that can easily been pinpointed to the idea that in that case the mission statement hasn't really come from within.
The need for a consistent and credible message from top management; a message lived and breathed by those propagating it, is undoubtedly of great importance.
Kotter (j) strongly emphasizes the importance of near constant communication as a determining factor for the effectiveness of a general manager: "Time-management experts still tell managers to compose lists of priorities and to limit the number of people they see. However, the successful ones I watched rarely did so. They 'wasted' time walking down corridors, engaging in seemingly random chats with seemingly random people . . ."
It appears that a strategically planned approach to the "when" of communication - and conversely the "when not to" - doesn't fit the random pattern expressed by today's successful managers, nor the fact that in human relationships, efficiency doesn't work. "Again, you simply can't think efficiency with people. You think effectiveness with people and efficiency with things. I've tried to be 'efficient' with a disagreeing or disagreeable person and it simply doesn't work. I've tried to give ten minutes of 'quality time' to a child or an employee to solve a problem, only to discover such 'efficiency' creates new problems and seldom resolves the deepest concern." (Covey (k) )
The question of the "when" can safely be answered "almost always", as shown anciently and in modern times.
The question of the "how to communicate" remains to be answered.
Birkenbihl (l) simply states that "True is not, what A says, but rather what B understands", shifting the burden of responsibility for misunderstanding from receiver to sender.
Covey elaborates extensively on that subject (m) in the fifth of his seven habits, "Seek first to understand, then to be understood". Of special importance to Covey is the habit of empathic listening, mirroring facts and feelings conveyed without judgement or premature suggestions.
To understand is essential for communication. The ability to perceive the needs and wants of the person or the group in front of him, be they openly addressed or unspoken, is a key for any leader.
Jesus understood those needs, whether they stemmed from John in prison or from the masses gathered on the mount near the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
To close this chapter without reference to three more issues on the "how" of communication would be a disservice to both the record and the reader: The power of question, the unexpected answer and the use of stories. Without going into detail on any of these, some short examples might sufficiently illustrate the points.
The power of question: To Simon the Pharisee, who had invited him for a meal and had looked down upon the sinful woman administering to Jesus (see chapter 4) came the following:
"A certain lender had two debtors: the one owed five hundred shillings, and the other fifty. When they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him most?" (18)
Simon knew full well that Jesus was speaking of the relationship between the woman he despised and God. But there remained only one answer: "He, I suppose, to whom he forgave the most." It was the answer to this question that convicted Simon of his own hypocrisy.
In public also questions were one of his favorite means to address friends and foes alike.
Asked the Pharisees: "Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
Whatever the answer, it would be against either the Roman Empire or the Mosaic traditions - or so they reasoned.
But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" "Caesar's," they replied. Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." (19)
"Whose portrait is this?" Four words in a question and the attack evaporated. He was good on questions because he was good in looking at the real issues.
The unexpected answer: Of course this was another test. Everybody knew it. But then, what else do you expect from the Pharisees?
They brought in a woman caught in adultery and said to Jesus, "Teacher (or Rabbi), this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?"
They knew full well that they didn't have judicial power to sentence anyone to death without Roman approval. But even better: They would force Jesus to take a stand either against Moses or against the very people he wanted to serve. But Jesus? answer left them as the guilty and has become one of the best known Biblical sayings: "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." (20)
They hadn't expected anything like that even remotely. The reader - with perfect hindsight - may marvel at the rhetorical mastery exemplified, but for Jesus this was a very real situation, threatening all he stood for - including the life of the woman. When the public is watching, leadership is more important than training in public speaking, important as it may be. For it is leadership that can see beyond and give the answer (n) , though we may not like it.
The use of stories: It is interesting to note that there is not a single clue that Jesus wanted his sayings recorded in writing. His disciples did it anyway, though years and decades later, with all the problems of oral tradition in the mean time - and that of transcription and translation ever since. Nevertheless, he used a method that may well be the most powerful in all of communication - and one rarely trained. He used stories, stories from everyday life. Most were short, down to the point - and extremely easy to remember. And many were allegories or parables, as we call them these days. Even the Biblical Illiterate has heard of the Good Samaritan or the Prodrigal Son. How about this one:
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it." (21) 34 words (in the original Greek it's only 25 words) powerfully transmit the message that there is something very valuable; that it needs to be sought out, for it doesn't just come to the unsuspecting; that if found changes everything but cannot be had without major sacrifice.
But along with that message comes a picture, which is much more easily remembered and not only a picture but a feeling, an emotion - for who would not identify with that diligent and finally joyous merchant - which makes it almost indelible.
Stories have their use in business literature, too. If you will, every case study is a story, never mind the length. One such story (though not a case study, too bad) was often used by Ray Kroc, legendary founder of McDonald's (well, actually he bought the business idea when it was very small): "An enthusiastic music lover approaches a great pianist after one of his concerts and gushes, 'I'd give anything in this world if I could play like that!' 'No, you wouldn't,' replied the pianist." (o)
This story is short, does have a message, a picture, a feeling - and it will be remembered long after this project paper has been forgotten by both reader and author.
Jesus had a message and a mission, and he used the most effective means available to him to transport that message, never being trite or boring. He understood his diverse audiences and spoke differently to kings and paupers, scribes and sinners. It was the person or the group to whom the message was addressed that determined the method - but the method did not effect his message.
Who may benefit from these thoughts? Almost everyone could, but there is a particular need for leaders to re-evaluate their communication (s).
How clear and authentic is the message - or is it obvious to everyone except the president that what he is talking about is nothing but hype?
There is a dire need for clarity and honesty in many companies.
I would also wish that leaders would not fall silent - or into something of a stupor - whenever someone asks a critical question, especially when this someone is a journalist during annual general meeting.
And as to the "how" of communication I have abdicated an earlier notion that leaders, business leaders, should be able to use a wide variety of methods and means for communication.
They should not.
But they could, couldn't they?
"But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." (22)
Next: The Decider
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