The Leadership Skill of Naming It

Welcome back to Everyday Leader. Conrad here with Shannon. Today we are focusing on a specific leadership skill: naming it.

Naming it starts with an urge -- something you are sensing in a conversation, in a group, in yourself, that has not yet been put into words. It might be something in the shadows. Something tender, not yet known, or being avoided. And the leadership skill is in articulating it: bringing it into the room.

What you name is often not in the content of what is being said -- it is in the space around it. Something that has not surfaced yet, or that everyone is circling but not touching directly. Naming it is how the conversation moves forward.

And it is not always about conflict or difficult feedback. Sometimes what needs to be named is something warm -- there is a lot of care here right now, or I notice we are all exhausted. Acknowledgement and appreciation are forms of naming it too. It is uncomfortable for some people in both directions.

The purpose is always the relationship -- for growth, for awareness, for authenticity. Naming it is not about getting it exactly right. It is about bringing something into the open for the sake of moving through it, not continuing to circle around it. And if what you name is not quite right, that is OK -- the act of naming often helps the other person find the more accurate word themselves.

Here are some signals that something needs to be named: you are feeling bored with a conversation. Confused. Agitated. Distracted by something else pulling at you. Or you keep hearing the same story -- from someone else or from yourself -- over and over again. Those are invitations. Something underneath is asking to be seen.

When a story keeps repeating, the simple disruption is: what is important about this story? What needs to shift? Sometimes just naming that the same thing keeps coming up is enough to break the pattern and open a new direction.

You can also notice it in your body -- a felt sensation, an image, a quality of energy in the room. These are all pointing toward something that wants to emerge. The practice is: notice it. Then choose whether to name it. Not everything needs to be said. But notice first.

A great place to practice: the next meeting you are in, notice what is being named, what is not being named, and what would serve the group if it were surfaced. Start there. Build the skill gradually. That is the leadership practice.

Thanks for being here. Until next time.