There are two issues at play here: quality of management; and communications strategy and receptivity.


Firstly, there is the "quality of management" embedded in the leader/manager. If the manager is a poor manager, then one of the manager's failings may be the inability to see the potential of trust, among other "soft" attributes. Just because he/she is the manager doesn't mean they are right or they know all the answers, or that they are skilled communicators.

Remember that many CEOs and senior managers are promoted from "the field" or from "grass roots". They may be excellent technical operators but that does not necessarily imbue them with the skills needed to manage effectively.

Where the manager is lacking certain skills, and the followers are aware of or suspect those shortcomings, then it is the responsibility of the follower to couch the attributes and benefits of the "sell proposition" in terms that the leader/manager will understand.

This leads to the second issue: communications strategy and receptivity. Most people are right-brain (preference for creative, abstract, etc) or left-brain (eye for detail, methodical, etc). The right or left brainedness relates to preferences and not abilities. Effective managers tend to have a comfort in both hemispheres rather than in one or the other. Ineffective managers are often predominantly one or the other.

The importance of this is in one's communications strategy. If you are a right-brainer and have come up with an idea that is abstract and "touchy-feely" such as "trust", and you express that idea to a left-brainer in abstract terms, then it will not, in all probability, resonate. You must express the idea in terms that a left-brainer will understand; for example:

- exactly what is proposed
- how will it work
- who will be effected
- what are they being asked to do
- how much will it cost, how long will it take, etc
- exactly what will be achieved
- exactly how will it add to the manager's KPOs

The idea is still "soft" and abstract but expressed in terms the manager will understand.

If on the other hand the manager is right-brained and you have an idea that is highly complex and detailed, then the way you might approach it is by stressing:

- the bigger picture (feelings, competitive position, the future, how stakeholders will feel, impact on consumers)
- the impact on KPOs in broad terms

Only when the manager asks for details on implementation or operations should you offer those details.

The right-brain manager needs to be "switched onto" the idea before he/she needs to know details of how it will operate.

Conversely, the left-brainer needs to know how it will operate before he/she gets switched on by the idea.

Bottom line: concepts and ideas do not incubate in a vacuum - they are fed by the subjective mind-sets of those who must deliberate their worth. The process of deliberation is lubricated or hindered by one's comfort zone. You are more likely to feel comfortable with a concept if it is couched in the terminology of one's mind.