Waffling Woes: Is Your Leadership Style Lacking?

I've previously mentioned a common type of presenter: The Waffler. Despite good intentions, I've recently seen a team get completely derailed by a Waffler Leader who struggled to explain ideas, tasks, and strategy clearly. They were lost in the fog.

Re-Introducing The Waffler

Alas, The Waffler isn’t a comic book villain. They are a low-impact, rambling communicator who either has nothing relevant to say or can’t make their point clear. They talk in circles, avoiding direct points, and prefer exploring ideas over making decisions.

Whether aware of their waffling or not, Wafflers often go off on tangents, discuss irrelevant topics, and use vague language like, "I guess what I wanted to say was…" or "I think that this might be the case…". This frustrates or confuses audiences, making them feel their time was wasted.

Wafflers are the wrong people to lead a team.

When Waffling Becomes a Problem

A bad Waffler isn’t evil; but they are confusing and they stall action. Imagine a Waffler leading your team. In meetings, they can’t articulate their ideas, talk in circles, and get distracted by theories. By the end, no clear point or purpose emerges, and nothing gets achieved. It's like trying to navigate through thick fog.

Teams feel frustrated and become dysfunctional under such leadership. One group I was working with recently felt like they were going crazy, listening to their boss ramble on, and yet they couldn’t understand why they weren’t getting it. They felt like they were the problem, not the leadership, and as a result, they blamed themselves. Worse still, this team was tasked with delivering on important change initiatives, yet the wider organisation had lost confidence in their ability to deliver anything. 

Effective leaders must communicate clearly and effectively to create shared understanding and inspire action. Anything else is just noise.

Purpose First

The solution to waffling is becoming purposeful. If you recognise The Waffler in yourself or someone in your team, here are three tips to help:

1. Clarify your core message – your big idea. It should be succinct and actionable, a few sentences at most. A professional colleague of mine, Jane Sheffield, puts it like this: "Imagine you only have five seconds with [your audience]. You have to run in, yell the most important thing you have to say, and run back out. What would you yell?" 

2. State the desired outcome or ask early on. Unless the topic is highly contentious or the audience is hostile, get to this quickly and ensure it’s achieved.

3. Ask for feedback. Check with your audience:' Is everyone clear on what they have to do?' 'Have I explained this in a way you can articulate it to your team?' 'What else do you need from me to help you get clarity on this?' 'What advice would you give me on de-cluttering my message?'

A clear, simple narrative supported by decisive leadership can drive meaningful change. Without this, even the best ideas get lost, leaving your team adrift. So, clarify your core message, drive toward an outcome, and ensure your ideas are not just heard, but felt and trusted. Let the fog lift!