By | Adil Malia | www.adilmalia.com
Right and knowledgable. Yes, that is what you may be. But without tact , you will neither be able to communicate effectively, nor influence, nor convince, nor be able to facilitate a common agreement despite being Right. No longer can a leader without tact hope to be an effective leader just by virtue of right knowledge.
Tact is critical for it is about being mindful & sensitive which are much sought after social skills of a leader in a power driven dynamic situation. Organisations are managed thru power structures and thus require a lot of tact in handling sensitive situations.
Tact encompasses androitness , a certain cleverness and political savvy. But mistake it not. Tact is not about saying the wrong things or not adhering to Value systems to please somebody.
Tact is about saying the right things delicately and mindfully to set the situation right and communicate a message without causing social injury.
Gibran’s fourth frog was right and knowledgeable. But he certainly lacked the sensitivity. Albeit right, he mindlessly antagonised all the 3 frogs at the same time, who were wrong.
Republished with permission and originally published at www.adilmalia.com
