John Sullivan’s article, How HR Speak Hurts HR, reminds me of a conversation I had with members in an Executive Workgroup recently; these folks were “business bilingual” in the sense that when they were with business leaders they spoke business language and when among HR peers they spoke in talent management terms.
Using a few more words to explain what we mean helps stick to plain English rather than lapse into jargon. For example, succession planning really is plans to lead the business tomorrow. Change management by itself is only interesting to OD people; with business leaders, the phrase must be completed with “change to (what) (when) because (why) and how." And work “climate” really is what it feels like to work in a place, be continuously motivated, and productive.
I was reminded again of the need to speak a universal language when reading a translation of China’s Ten Year Talent Development plan, which is read by leaders in talent management, business, economists, scientists and political leaders. I was struck by the fact that as paradigms and systems around belief and vision evolve, words and phrases that have meaning in one professional discipline or culture may not translate easily in another profession, language and culture. Taking the time to define phrases in straightforward words can help achieve common understanding.
William Safire, who used to write a column for The New York Times Magazine called “On Language,” took an anthropological view of language; on a regular basis Safire identified when and why a new term was introduced into the language at a point when there was shared understanding of the term (even if the term had not been added yet to a dictionary). Safire said, “Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight.”
Whatever you take to the beach to read on these baking hot days, ask yourself if you could describe to someone else what it was about in plain understandable words- it may benefit you back on the job when you have a chance for an “elevator speech” (darn, I slipped into HR speak!) -what I meant to say was, “when you find you have one minute to talk with a business leader.”
Speaking of discussing how ideas and techniques improve leadership effectiveness, Executive Membership gets you invited to a biweekly teleconference series called Executive Conversations with topical experts about what’s most important to your personal leadership- join us to add what you want to discuss. And send me your favorite beach/business reads!
Colin Firth photo courtesy of UK in Italy
