Anywhere in the world, flamenco artists can come together and create a performance on the fly.
The first notes ring out, and magic unfolds. The dancer's feet move in perfect sync with the guitar, the singer's voice floats seamlessly through the melody.
But, we have never performed together before. Not even one single rehearsal.
How is this possible?
They share a common language that’s remained unchanged and has been passed down from generation to generation for 300 years – the intricate vocabulary of the art of flamenco itself.
Over my many years in the corporate world, I witnessed multiple "waves of change" sweep through the organization, each bringing its own collection of buzzwords and jargon. One year we talked about "deliverables," and the next time, it was "results," and later "outcomes." Invariably, people would spend hours just trying to align on what was meant, precious hours that they could be dedicating to doing the work. In the end, all the same concepts, just with different packaging. It was like learning a new dialect every few months and all the grammar and missteps that go along with it.
When change leaders enter an organization, with the best of intentions, they often bring in new language and values to signal change. I get the intention and on the surface, it seems like a good idea. And, it usually creates more confusion than clarity with hours wasted just trying to understand what everyone else is talking about, instead of actually doing the work.
I remember being brought in to support a new project with a client. In the kickoff meeting, I sat in a room surrounded by smart, capable people. They spent at least 30 minutes talking about a concept in the new operating model that was being adopted across the company: what it meant, what it did not mean, what other people thought it meant, why they were wrong, and why leadership was adding to the confusion. It was like watching a game of telephone – everyone saying too many different words for the same concept and brain power draining away slowly. Meanwhile, I was running the numbers in my head, thinking how much money the company had just paid all of us to… swirl.
New language is a great way to package ideas that have been around for a long time, and make them look new, especially if delivered with flair. A former boss of mine once invited a consultant from a major firm to talk about a white paper he had written on a topic that I had been teaching and coaching teams on for a while. I had struggled to gain my boss’s support for my work, so I was curious to learn something new. The meeting with the consultant was an eye-opening experience. He came in with a flurry of new terms and phrases, but which described basically the same approach and processes I’ve been advocating for and implementing. To my surprise, my boss was enthralled. I, on the other hand, just wanted to turn to my boss and say, "He’s just saying the same things I’ve been telling you with fancier words!". But I was speechless with disbelief. I asked the author how long he had been doing this work, to which he replied that he had spent some months researching the literature and surveying companies. In short, he was a theorist, and I was a practitioner.
I wondered: what had I done wrong in communicating with my boss? But then I remembered: many times in the past, I had hired outside consultants to deliver messages to senior leaders that I knew would not be heard if delivered by me, an internal employee several rungs below on the org chart. I wondered as well if the message produced a different impact when delivered by a white man (the consultant) versus a “Latina” (as I was often misidentified in the US)?
New vocabulary can be used not just to signal change, or expertise, but also to convey power. I recently attended a panel discussion with experts on using Artificial Intelligence in medicine, including Microsoft and Google. There were MDs of all generations in the audience. The panelists spoke fast and passionately, describing to us the myriad ways AI will improve healthcare, often using words that most people would understand if they had been closely following the rapidly evolving AI landscape. One of the doctors in the audience raised his hand: “You say you want to democratize AI, but how will you do that if I can’t even understand what you’re saying?”.
Why do we fall so easily into this trap? Language allows large groups of human beings to coordinate action. We can create powerful ideas that sound real but have no existence except in our minds. New words get people’s attention. But new words can also be an excuse to avoid the hardest part of organizational change- shifting consciousness. We focus on the words and the concepts, instead of how we use them for meaningful results. As one of my teachers says, we execute steps instead of dancing.
Transformation can generate a sense of instability in organizations, and new language can give us something to hold on to. When we let go of the structures of the past but we don’t yet have a solid new structure to replace it with, new words can be misused and misunderstood.
This is where the power of common, stable language comes in.
When we share a vocabulary that we all master, we can collaborate more effectively, align faster, and focus on what matters. It turns hard work into an effortless jam session.
So how can we develop a shared, common language?
Prioritize simplicity over novelty. Instead of inventing new terms, use words people already know and understand. Default to “weekend english” whenever possible. I used to be part of a team that was learning how to work with agile methods. We were told that we would have a review meeting every week, where we had to bring “work artifacts”. Many looked confused, many just nodded silently, pretending we got it. A brave soul finally asked: "what exactly is an artifact?…".
Someone else looked it up online, and declared “it’s a thing you can touch or see." Lightbulbs everywhere. From that moment on, we knew exactly what was expected in our Friday meeting. Our usual business practice of talking about the work out. Showing the work (something revolutionary for us at the time) was in. Say you had one of those ambiguous “alignment meetings”, you had to at least take a selfie to prove it. People started bringing in physical objects, sketches, prototypes – anything tangible to show their progress. No more confusion, just clarity and action.
Use everyday terms in unexpected contexts. During a break at a team workshop, my co-facilitator walked into the room while talking on the phone. As he wrapped up his call, I heard him say “I love you, guys”. So I asked him, “how’s the family?”, assuming he’d been on the phone with his wife and kids. “Oh, that was my staff meeting”.
I was dumbfounded. Can you say I love you at work?! “We can where I work!”, he chuckled.
In the book All About Love, bell hooks calls on a definition of love inspired by M. Scott Peck: “the will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth.”
Imagine an organizational transformation where love is the most often-used (and practiced) word. Now that would be truly different.
Use relatable analogies to spark interest. When I needed to revamp our hiring process, I decided to replace the regular process with a "selection party".
Combining "selection" and "party" instantly conveyed the what and the how. It made people curious, and challenged us to reimagine the experience for ourselves and the candidates. The energy was completely different from a traditional interview setting. We had cupcakes and balloons. We held it outdoors.
We simulated real work situations, and plenty of breaks for getting to know each other as real people, not just resumes.
Using unorthodox yet simple, everyday language helps you to loosen up stuffy processes at a low cost.
There’s always a fear, especially amongst educated business people that using simple language will seem backward or out of touch. That others will think that we don’t know what we’re doing. I've been there. But the goal isn't to look smart. It's to make magic happen. In fact, using complex language is the easy way out in the business world. As David Snowden, the creator of the Cynefin framework once said,
It takes a lot of work to make the complex simple.
In the long run, using a shared common language - and sticking with it- creates stability amid the chaos of transformation. It removes friction and brings ease to the work of change.
I challenge you to ditch the jargon. People respond to everyday language, not corporate speak. Use language to help others understand and feel understood.
So go ahead, throw a "selection party." Talk about "love" in your next strategy meeting. Use words that make you come alive. Because when you do, you'll bring your whole organization to life with you.
Ready for more?
Explore the intersection of flamenco and leadership in my talk Dancing Through Change. See how artistic principles can transform your approach to leading change in your organization.
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