Trailhead Thoughts
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
- George Bernard Shaw
Trail Map - Learn. Think. Act. ™
From Said to Remembered: How to Communicate for Execution
📚Learn
Great communication breaks in 3 places:
Said → Heard → Remembered
If it’s not clear, it won’t be heard.
If it’s not heard, it won’t be remembered.
If it’s not remembered, it won’t be executed.
Here are the 3 tools to fix that:
The Call Plan - Before the meeting, ask:
Who will be in the room?
What are their objectives?
What are our objectives?
What are the desired next steps?
BONUS - Before the conversation or meeting wraps up - clarify. Who will do What, by When.
The Four Ways of Seeing - is a red-team exercise. It works to improve perspective and accelerate empathy. Work through the scenario, and ask these questions.
How I see myself?
How I see them?
How I think they see me?
How they see themselves?
Jobs to Be Done (for Meetings) - Not all meetings are the same. From my perspective there are 3 types of meetings. and each have a specific Job to Be Done (JTBD)
Inform and include Q&A - If you are not looking for feedback, questions, or follow-up answers - turn that meeting into an email.
Decision-Making - In this meeting we are making a decision. To do, or Do Not. To move forward, or Not. To invest, or Not.
Clarify -What are we deciding?
What criteria will we use?
Collaborative - This is the meeting where we waste a majority of time, and they are actually the ones that can be very valuable. They create space to build as a team. The 3 types of collaborative meetings follow.
Solve a Problem.
Align on Strategy and Tactics to Achieve a Result.
Design a Solution.
If you don’t define the job of the meeting, people will disengage.
🤔Think
Ask yourself:
Where does communication usually break down for me?
Do my meetings have a clear job?
At the end of conversations, do we clearly know who will do what by when?
When was the last time I asked, “What did you hear me say?”
Small gaps create big execution problems.
💪 Act
Try this in your next meeting:
Write the job of the meeting at the top of your notes.
Before ending, say, “Let’s confirm who is doing what by when.”
Ask one person, “What did you hear as the key takeaway?”
That’s it.
Simple tools. Big impact.
Clarity → Alignment → Execution
Beyond the Trailhead
The Real Reason Communication Breaks Down.
If you are still winging it when it comes to communication, then you are likely not getting the results you want.
Most communication issues inside teams are NOT about tone.
They’re NOT about personality.
They’re NOT even about skill.
They’re about lack of clarity before, during, and after the conversation. We assume because something was said, it was understood.
There are things that are said. There are things that are heard. There are things that are remembered.
Rarely are all three the same.
And, because it was understood, it’ll be acted on. And then, because everyone nodded, we’re aligned.
That’s a dangerous chain of assumptions.
The gap between, said, heard, and remembered and performance lives or dies in that gap.
If what’s said isn’t clear, it won’t be heard correctly.
If it isn’t heard correctly, it won’t be remembered accurately.
And if it isn’t remembered accurately, execution drifts.
High-performing leaders don’t leave alignment to chance. They validate it. Instead of assuming agreement, they ask: “What did you hear me say?”
Not to challenge. Not to embarrass, but to tighten the loop.
If that question is hard to ask, that might be your own resistance to being misunderstood or to discovering you weren’t as clear as you thought.
Communication also breaks down when we walk into rooms unprepared. When we haven’t clarified who’s in the room, what they want, what we want, and what needs to happen next. That lack of intention shows up as scattered dialogue and fuzzy outcomes.
And then there’s the meeting problem.
Not every meeting is meant to do the same thing. Some are meant to inform. Some are meant to decide. Some are meant to build or solve. But when we don’t define the purpose upfront, we end up debating in information meetings, collaborating in decision meetings, and wondering why everyone looks tired and frustrated.
Structure doesn’t kill engagement.
Confusion does.
The final breakdown usually happens at the end.
Great conversation. Strong energy. Everyone feels aligned. But no one is clear on who owns what by when.
Execution loves specificity.
Vague next steps create vague results.
So here’s one simple thing you can implement this week:
At the end of your next meeting, or important conversation, clarify:
“Who will do what by when.”
______ will do _______ by _______ - Yes, it really can be that simple.
Don’t assume. Don’t imply. Don’t hope.
Clarity isn’t micromanagement. It’s leadership.
And when you tighten the gap between what’s said and what actually gets done, your team doesn’t just communicate better, they execute better.
If something shifted while reading this, ask yourself:
Where do I most often assume alignment instead of confirming it?
What meetings am I allowing to drift without a clear purpose?
What would change if I treated clarity as my job, not theirs?
Communication isn’t about saying more.
It’s about reducing friction between intention and execution.
Voices from the Trail
Meet Jamie Vinck
Jamie Vinck shares her journey from corporate HR to behavioral health leadership, highlighting the realities of addiction, coping mechanisms, and life transitions. She unpacks how trauma, stress, and even success can mask addiction — and how finding a healthy outlet can be the catalyst for real healing and lasting transformation.
Listen to this episode on Spotify
Hitting the Trail
Are you in charge of planning a company offsite or leadership retreat? Bring in a speaker who won’t only inspire, but will equip and spark action within your team. Mike helps teams turn ideas into execution through clarity, communication, and actionable frameworks.
Whether you want to reset strategy or build momentum, Mike’s sessions are designed to spark alignment and drive results.
Click here for more information.
Announcements
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That’s it for this week.
Stop assuming alignment and start confirming it. A little more clarity on the front end saves a lot of frustration on the back end.
We’d love if you would share this with someone who is ready to build their sprints for the new year.
The Find My Catalyst Team