03/24/2020
Hello Friends,
As the coronavirus continues to take a toll in the United States and abroad, we want to let you
know we are thinking of you and the challenges you face. We all are now living, and leading,
through the rapidly changing, stressful environment that we have often discussed in the context
of the Battle of Gettysburg. A decade from now, there will undoubtedly be leadership case
studies about our current crisis.
Our faculty members – who, as you may know, have led teams through some of the world’s
most serious crises – are putting their heads together to think of resources that might be helpful
during this time, from quick tips to more substantial offerings such as webinars or live case
studies. What follows is the first of many things we have been thinking about.
With so many of you telling us that you are now working remotely, many for the first time, we
cannot help but think of all the communication challenges that arise in those situations. In one
of our Gettysburg case studies, I cite the research of Albert Mehrabian, who suggested that when we are communicating with someone:
55% of their response is based on our physiology
38% of their response is based on the tone of our voice
7% of their response is based on the words we use
In a remote-work environment, where there may be a temptation to replace our regular human
interactions with email or texts, the implications of this study are clear: don’t do it. Preserve the
face-to-face communication whenever possible through tools like Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, or
anything else that allows video connection. If you can’t use video, we suggest you use audio as
much as possible. Mehrabian’s study showed that in the absence of physiology – like when
people talk on the phone – tonality becomes the overriding way others understand what you are saying. For a humorous illustration of this point, check out this State Farm commercial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=317vQgEiNRE Physiology and tonality is everything!
We will be back in touch soon with more thoughts. In the interim, please reach out if there is
anything we can do to help during this unique time.
Best wishes,
Steve
Funny State Farm commercial.
