Hoping and Reading Minds Are Not Good Strategies

"Torn by hesitation, we often make decisions that lead to new doubts."
Sylvia Crystal
 
Many managers go into the corridors of misunderstood diplomacy, being silent about things they disapprove of. But yet they hope that the surrounding people will read their minds and correct themselves. This self-regulation might happen sometimes. But it most often occurs in managers' dreams. Not in the real world. Hoping that someone else will read your mind and come up with a solution to a problem that bothers you is as probable as turning a spring rain into a Morse poem.
 
With few exceptions, most people cannot read minds. Most people understand their managers' messages as soon as they turn them from thought waves into vocal waves. Although mind reading is not widespread, the hope that someone else will apply it and read your mind is.
 
No one can read your thoughts, for example, that you don't like someone being late, interrupting you, or looking at his phone while you're talking to him, etc.  What causes frustration among managers is not the actions mentioned above, but the fact the people they work with are not nimble enough. The actions that irritate you can turn from a source of irritation into a source of inspiration.  
 
The opposite of this "hope of reading my mind" is direct communication. It turns out to be simple. But not always easy. Let us say your colleague leaves his unwashed cup of coffee in the kitchen. Instead of telling him to wash his coffee cup directly, it would be better first to help him realize what it would mean for the entire floor if a hundred people left their cups like that until 10.30 h in the morning.
 
The people on your teams are smarter than you think. You do not have to treat them like children because this behavior of yours will create people behaving like 35-year-old children. However, before asking questions, check whether you can ask them with a supportive rather than a judgmental and sarcastic tone. Because the highway of sarcasm will take you to the city of apathy.

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