The Ritual of Giving Instructions

As a lead­er, giv­ing instruc­tions should be con­sidered a ritual.

Communicative lead­er­ship is about being delib­er­ate in every inter­ac­tion. A small, often over­looked aspect of this is how instruc­tions are given. 

A straight­for­ward and prac­tic­al lead­er­ship hack is to treat giv­ing instruc­tions as a dis­tinct ritu­al — sep­ar­ate from the inform­al or prob­lem-solv­ing con­ver­sa­tions that might pre­cede it.

Here we go:

The Ritual of Giving Instructions

If you’re chat­ting cas­u­ally by the cof­fee machine and sud­denly start issu­ing instruc­tions left and right, it can cre­ate ten­sion and uncer­tainty. The envir­on­ment shifts abruptly, and people may become anxious as they men­tally shift gears without warning. 

Strive to sep­ar­ate dif­fer­ent types of inter­ac­tions to pre­vent con­fu­sion and anxi­ety with­in your team. 

By con­sciously dis­tin­guish­ing when to give action­able instruc­tions, you mark a clear bound­ary, allow­ing your team to feel more secure and focused.

Psychological research backs up the import­ance of con­text-switch­ing and struc­tured com­mu­nic­a­tion. According to Kahneman and Tversky (1979), abrupt shifts in cog­nit­ive con­text can lead to increased stress and cog­nit­ive load, which, in turn, impairs decision-mak­ing and the abil­ity to absorb inform­a­tion effect­ively. ¹Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect the­ory: An ana­lys­is of decision under risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 263 – 291. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​2​3​0​7​/​1​9​1​4​185

By ritu­al­iz­ing the giv­ing of instruc­tions — for instance, by paus­ing to cla­ri­fy the end of brain­storm­ing and the start of action items — you provide a men­tal struc­ture that sup­ports psy­cho­lo­gic­al safety. Your team knows when to share freely and when to focus on execut­ing a plan. 

Moreover, Edmondson (1999) describes the concept of “psy­cho­lo­gic­al safety” as fun­da­ment­al for team effect­ive­ness. If team mem­bers feel psy­cho­lo­gic­ally safe, they are more will­ing to take risks and con­trib­ute openly. ²Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learn­ing beha­vi­or in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350 – 383. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​2​3​0​7​/​2​6​6​6​999

You reduce cog­nit­ive strain by demon­strat­ively paus­ing and cla­ri­fy­ing that a new phase — the instruc­tion phase — has begun. 

To apply this in prac­tice, con­sider how you con­clude a meet­ing focused on dis­cus­sion. At the point where you trans­ition from prob­lem-solv­ing to action steps, estab­lish a ritu­al. It could be as simple as paus­ing and say­ing, “Okay, let’s ensure we all know our next steps.” This small ges­ture sig­nals a shift, allow­ing your team to men­tally adjust, absorb instruc­tions effect­ively, and feel less ambushed by sud­den task delegation.

Your Leadership, Your Ritual Style

The ritu­al doesn’t have to be complicated: 

Your ritu­al can be a change in tone, a brief pause, or even a verbal cue, like, “Time to decide what to do next.” The idea is to give your team a moment to recal­ib­rate. This builds clar­ity and focus, allow­ing every­one to under­stand when it’s time to shift from dia­logue to dir­ec­ted action.

Creating a ritu­al around giv­ing instruc­tions is more than effi­ciency — it’s about cre­at­ing an envir­on­ment where your team can thrive without the anxi­ety of unex­pec­ted shifts. ³Silfwer, J. (2023, December 30). Split Sessions: Recognition, Rewards, and Feedback. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​s​p​l​i​t​-​s​e​s​s​i​o​ns/

By inten­tion­ally sep­ar­at­ing dif­fer­ent kinds of com­mu­nic­a­tion, you provide a sense of safety and struc­ture, allow­ing your team to know when it’s time to dis­cuss freely and when it’s time to take action.

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• Communicative Leadership in Organisations
• The Checklist for Communicative Leadership
• Split Sessions: Recognition, Rewards, and Feedback
• The Sword of Certainty: Information is Power
• Principles of Communicative Discipline
• Speak First: A Simple Yet Powerful Leadership Hack
• The Ritual of Giving Instructions
• Symbolic Pacing in Communicative Leadership
• Serve Decisions, Not Solutions (to be published)
• The Servant Attitude for Communicative Leaders (to be published)
• Troublemakers as Cautionary Totems (to be published)
• The Inverted Curve of Leniency (to be pub­lished)
• The Fireside Solace: Over-Sharing for Leaders (to be published)
• Leadership Rhetoric: Micro Speeches & Poethic Schticks (to be published)

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