The empty boat theory, originating from a Daoist parable by Zhuangzi, teaches that most frustrations and personal slights are like being hit by an empty, drifting boat: there is no malicious intent behind them. It made me think about where this happens in organizations when employees are quick to assign motive:
- Leadership doesn’t care.
- They ignored us.
- They are hiding something.
- They are controlling the message.
But often…it’s an empty boat.
- Competing priorities.
- Bandwidth overload.
- Incomplete information.
- Unclear process.
- Not wanting to communicate until they have all the answers.
- Sending the memo thinking one message is enough.
- May be a little fear.
Perhaps I have had the privilege to work with leaders, both when I was in-house and now as a consultant, who are really good people. They have big plans and goals. They already see what is possible. They’ve been talking about them, debating ideas, crunching numbers, imagining possibilities for months or years. They often forget that people are not with them along the way.
When communication is missing or not intentional, people fill in motive while silence becomes conspiracy and delay becomes disrespect. I often say that the rumours are 10x worse than the real story. I think that is the big opportunity for internal communication in helping build trust. We ensure that intent matches impact.
What “empty boats” are you navigating right now?
