Where Is The Context?

I was listening to Adam Grant’s podcast “Rethinking” in which he interviewed comedian Trevor Noah, and they started off the interview discussing context. Adam and Trevor had both been at a conference together and Adam had sent Trevor a text that said something like “drinks afterwards – room – hotel.”

Trevor had said to Adam that there is little context in that message. First of all, how do I know it is for me? My name isn’t in the message. You could have made a mistake and sent the message to the wrong person.

The “untested hypothesis” that Trevor was suggesting is that digital communication lacks so much context that we fill in the gaps by reading texts, emails etc., based on how we are feeling. We interpret what the writer is attempting to communicate with our own filters and often inserting our own guesses about what we think the context is. AND we do this so automatically that we aren’t conscious of how we are inserting our own information and our biases in interpreting the message.

Think about this – we are so focused on being efficient and quick with our messaging that we are leaving our communication wide open to misinterpretation. I think one of the reasons that emojis are so popular is because it is an attempt to provide context to the messages we are sending. Someone could type “Great” and add a smiley face, a thumbs up or down, a frown, a surprised face, an exclamation point or a question mark and we would have a little more context about the message. (Note: my emoji language use is quite limited.)

Why is context so important, especially for leaders?

First of all, context is a gift. Putting a greeting with a person’s name at the beginning of a text or email acknowledges that you are sending a particular message to this person.

Adding context about why you are sending the message, what you want to achieve by sending the message and what response you would like in return as well as necessary details can actually help to make communication more efficient. Instead of 5 – 10 back and forth texts or emails about a topic, you might be able to get a resolution or communicate a thought, emotion, or request in 1 – 3 messages.

Super-Leaders, who lead with head + heart, understand that sharing context both informs and inspires others to follow them. When you can connect the why that is driving the work that people are doing to the higher-level goals of the organization, people can see why their work matters. And when a leader can provide appreciation for what the team is achieving because they grasp the circumstances and context of the team’s work environment, the team will feel seen and understood. Trust will increase, which is foundational to the success of the team.

Context also shapes your perspective. Have you ever looked at a painting and had one reaction, and then read the description of the painter’s intent and what was happening in the artist’s life at the time or the history of the time and then looked at the painting with fresh eyes? You may look at the painting from a whole new perspective with this additional context.

Stephan Covey tells a story in his classic book, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” about an executive who learned to consider the context of any request made by the president and to think about what additional information the president might need and provided it. As a result, the president, whose management style was directive, treated this executive differently seeking his advice and opinion on matters rather than just telling him what to do.

What will you do to focus more on context? Will it be as simple as adding a greeting with the person’s name to a text message or email? Will you anticipate what information the other person might need and add it before being asked? Will you be curious about the context of a situation and ask more questions? I challenge you to deepen your understanding of the context of one situation each day for a week and then assess the impact. Let me know how it goes.