One of my favorite leadership stories is about how Abraham Lincoln would sometimes write a letter detailing his anger and complaints with his generals. He then would put it in a desk drawer and wait overnight to decide whether or not he really needed to say those things.
The problem is, with email, the damage is already in someones inbox before you have time to think about what you've done.
1 comment:
Ah, yes, but with email there's sometimes that handy little "recall message" option.
I think it's easier to forgive hasty words spoken aloud than written. Writing implies the time taken to think things through (whether or not that happens), while everyone knows that words we don't mean occasionally fly from our mouths. It's easier to be gracious to a person than to a letter, I think. Especially since you can take that letter and read and reread and really let it get under your skin.
Also, when you're speaking to someone face to face, you have the advantage of more accurately conveying your tone and emotional state. Written words are always seen through the reader's emotional filter.
That said, it's obviously always smart to pause and reflect before communicating your anger or disappointment or other negative emotions. Lincoln had it goin' on. Go Abe, go.
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