Practice #4 – Teach less for More

The less you say the more you will communicate. You will be more effective if you only say what you need to say to the people who need to hear it.

Most people confuse quantity of information communicated with the quality of implementation. We think that the more we tell people the better they’ll do. Sometimes we think ‘more is better’ when often it is just ‘more’. Instead, boil things down to the basics and do them with excellence.

Teach people to love God and love others. Get the right information to the right people in the right position. Everyone doesn’t need to know everything.

It’s better to say one thing well than to present a scattering of many things less effectively. The quantity of information presented does not necessarily equate to the quality of implementation achieved. Sometimes we think that ‘more is better,’ when in actual fact we should ‘teach less for more.’ Have one central topic or idea for your message and deliver it clearly.

No single message needs to cover everything that needs to be said about a biblical text or topic. Have a more open-ended approach that sees your message as part of an ongoing conversation rather than the last word on a matter, with everything tied together. Leave people with some work to do – questions to answer, reflections to make, and discussion to engage in.

[These first four practices keep your organisation in alignment so you don’t pull off course. These are about making changes in the organisation. The next three practices require personal change for the leader, and sometimes, that’s a little more difficult]