From wikipedia:

“Conversation is a form of interactive, spontaneous communication between two or more people. Typically it occurs in spoken communication, as written exchanges are usually not referred to as conversations. The development of conversational skills and etiquette is an important part of socialization.”

When an email topic exceeds two messages – the original message and a response, it in effect becomes a conversation.   The main problem with trying to have a conversation using e-mail is the typical conversation skills and etiquette is lost.

Conversation, by definition, does not occur in written form, however, when an e-mail trail runs to ten or more messages (which is very common in an institutional environment) it seems to me it should have been a conversation.   What I mean is, while technically this is not defined as a conversation the type of communication needed is interactive and two-way; e-mail is not the place for that.

With dozens of people copied on e-mail messages I always think to myself,  ” Get a room, please”.   Often when I am copied or forwarded these horrendous e-mail trails I feel like an eavesdropper, albeit not secretly, as they know I am there.

Most Important Reason not to hold e-mail conversations

Conversations, e-mails, blogs, social networks, and so on, are all ways we communicate with others.  The basic objective of communication is to either tell someone something or for them to tell you.   The communication method depends on what is being communicated.   Email is best for capturing agreements or documenting facts – this allows for one response – I agree or I do not agree (which can be followed by a conversation).

As soon as the topic requires ongoing interaction – that is beyond one reply/response – almost as a rule e-mail is the wrong vehicle.  A key reason for this is discussions, debates and arguments all need to have standard conversation etiquette applied to them if they are going to remain civil and also succeed in achieving the ultimate goal – a meeting of the minds.

A simple suggestion

I recommend you always go voice to voice or face to face if you get an e-mail reply you want to respond to.  That is, one message -one reply – end of trail.  At that point is more discuss is needed have a conversation in person or by phone.  After that conversation, if a point of agreement needs to be captured in writing send a new email documenting the agreement, at this point the old e-mail trail is over and should be left alone.

I wonder why it has taken me so long to get around to posting some of my thoughts on leadership.  I had a conversation today about getting things done within a corporate environment or other bureaucracy.  For me one of the key drivers to success in these environments is leadership.

Of course there are a myriad of  factors that influence whether a goal is achieved, how fast and the quality of the results.  For me, without question – good, effective leadership sits on the top of all those variables.

Consider some examples

Would Germany have overcome Great Britain in the Second World war had it not been for Winston Churchill?  India peacefully left the British Empire, could this have happened without Ghandi?

The examples of a goal achieved against overwhelming odds because of a great leader are numerous.  Each of us can probably name a number of great leaders we have observed during our lifetimes both famous and not famous, that is leadership applies not just to global historical figures but to local environments as well.

What are the key attributes of successful leaders?

Think of those leaders you admire, maybe it is even yourself.  What are the key qualities you observe?  Here are some of my thoughts on the top attributes:

• exhibit high levels of emotional intelligence, that is things like; self awareness, compassion, honesty,  sincerity, self assurance, personal initiative and this list goes on but research shows the EI attributes I have listed here to top the list.
• ability to communicate, not only be heard but also to hear
• strength of conviction – knowing what the objective is and believing in it
• capability to leverage the leader within for all their followers,  this is sort of like the leader following the followers to catch up with them.
• Strategic Vision – seeing the way before others do

Mostly though, when asked about the key thing people notice about a leader they admire the most common response is it was someone they liked.  Strong and effective leaders are always above all likable.

What happens without strong leadership?

My personal observation of many situations both workplace, personal and political is a leadership vacuum invariably leads to poor results  while good leadership leads to positive high quality results.

My faith in large corporations customer service capabilities was restored by this uplifting story I heard the other day.

An expensive on-line tread mill was purchased through Amazon.ca.  The product included a one year manufacturers warranty.   The purchasers received the product, shipped and as when expected.  It was set up and the exercising began, to everyone’s satisfaction.

Having some home exercise equipment can be very help to keep ones self in shape.  Personally I am not a big practitioner of home exercise preferring to exercise by walking at least 10,000 steps a day (A goal which I consistently exceed).

For about four months the tread mill performed as expected and then, alas it stopped working.   The manufacturer was called (toll free) and a conversation ensued.  It turns out the original manufacturing company went under chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States and was sold.   The purchasers canceled all existing warranties.   Unfortunately that included the warranty on the machine in question.   The option was to purchase a $700 part and install it themselves.  It might fix the problem or it might not.  The part could not be returned, so it was a crap shoot.

This led to a call to Amazon.  Just a, “hey, bought a large item through your service and it broke, warranty was canceled due to bankruptcy, is there anything you can do.

After waiting for some time well the service representatives briefed their supervisor, the response came back.  Amazon offered to pay for the part and follow-up in four weeks to see if it worked and if not would consider future assistance.  They were asked if it would be okay to use the $700 to purchase another tread mill and give up on this one since it was not clear if it could be repaired.   After further consultation with a supervisor this arrangement was approved.  And the part cost reimbursement went through.

So, there is only one thing to say – kudos to Amazon.