Stop Emailing When You Should Have a Meeting

Recently we were delivering a leadership development program when Annia, a senior leader in the firm, raised her hand and addressed the room:

“I’ve noticed that many of us quickly send an email rather than picking up the phone or when we could have a meeting in person.

I know I’ve done it too – you just want to get the issue off your list. Maybe I’m old-school here, but it seems to me that we can’t build relationships or solve problems as quickly by email.”

Some younger leaders in the room smiled sheepishly and admitted that they were very comfortable communicating by text, voice message, and email, but that they felt awkward on the phone.