Task communication and empowering

In my other post, I already mentioned that communication is the main problem for most projects, companies, and even families. There are many studies giving high failure rates and explaining why, but I won’t waste your time bringing them here.

Throughout my career, I have had the pleasure of leading many people, but as the saying goes, “with great power comes great responsibility.” Those responsibilities made me think about better and standard ways to communicate and ensure that the given message was fully understood. In theory, it seems easy—as with most things—but in practice, we only discover the difficulty after a while. So I created these four standard points for communicating a task:

1. What is the task (micro and macro)

2. How to do it

3. Deadline

4. Implications of not doing it

1. What is the task?

Usually, when we communicate a task, we say something like, “We need this done by tomorrow”—and that’s it. No wonder the failure rate is so high in this area. Yes, it is important to explain what the task is in simple terms (micro), but also explaining how it fits into the bigger picture (macro) gives people a sense of purpose and scale. Suddenly, the importance of every task is understood—no matter how small—because all tasks serve a purpose, and without them, something will be missing.

2. How to do it

How to execute a task depends on the situation, the team’s experience, and other factors. When hiring our team, we base it on many things, including their capabilities and skills. So why should I explain how they need to do their job? The answer is simple: to be on the same page. You can explain how to do it, discuss it together, or let the team member explain how it can be done. This creates alignment and agreement between both parties.

3. Deadline

A deadline is the latest time or date by which something should be completed. This step is more than just communicating it; it should also be discussed to make sure the time given is enough for the task to be executed properly.

4. Implications of not doing it

Earlier, I mentioned giving a task a sense of purpose. This step adds another layer: urgency. More than just knowing that failing a task will impact the organization, knowing exactly how it will impact it creates urgency—and even a sense of responsibility. It is harder to care about something we do not fully understand.

Example 1

"Sweep the floor so the office is ready for people to work (what is the task). Use a vacuum cleaner and mop (how to do it). It should be finished by 8 am before people arrive (deadline). If it’s not done in time, the noise will disturb people’s work because they need deep concentration (implications)."

Example 2

"Develop the chat feature so users can communicate with each other (what is the task). Use Flutter for the frontend and PHP for the backend (how to do it). It should be finished by 10/08 before we start the next project (deadline). If it’s not done by then, other teams won’t be able to progress (implications)."

At first glance, this might seem like just putting pressure on the team by giving them all the information—and that’s it. But this is where empowerment comes in.

Empowering the team means giving them the responsibility and authority to make decisions. There is a high chance that after a task is planned and communicated, “something” might happen, and the course may need to shift slightly. Empowerment gives the team the freedom to make decisions and take risks, trusting that they will do their best. It doesn’t mean the team stops communicating with the leader; it just means the leader doesn’t need to intervene every time something happens.

Finally, empowerment means giving everyone on the team the same rights and the same voice to make decisions that can impact the organization. Being part of something is not just about watching; it’s about contributing your skills and ideas to change its course. I am not part of a movie when I watch it—but when I can contribute, I truly belong.

Thanks for reading, and I hope this helps you achieve a little more.