Have you fallen into a rut in how you communicate? (168-1)

I heard once that if the communication is fuzzy from the leader it will be foggy for the team. Effective leaders work hard at communication skills. Read Ezekiel 1:1-28.

Ezekiel was a prophet appointed by God to serve the Jewish people in exile in Babylon. He was taken into exile approximately 10 years before the fall of Jerusalem. God used Ezekiel as a watchman. He called Ezekiel to warn the exiled Jews in Babylon that their exile was not a fluke but in the plan of God and that the city of Jerusalem would still fall to the Babylonian army. God had Ezekiel communicate the future through extraordinary mysteries, visions, symbolism, parables, and allegories that were meant to stretch the minds of the listener. The book of Ezekiel is a complex collection of prophetic messages offering significant ways to grasp God’s future plan for salvation and righteousness on the earth.

In chapter one Ezekiel gave a memorable vision of a sovereign God delivering a message to the captives in Babylon. Ezekiel began the vision with images the people knew with the dark clouds of a mighty storm they would have seen many times coming in over the Euphrates river. This time however the blackness of the clouds and the unnatural fiery glow and the lightning flashing provided the framework for the manifestation of the greater glory of God.

Leaders can learn from the means God used to communicate through the prophet Ezekiel:

• Ezekiel used a memorable mental image. People frame their thinking in pictures. Often a visual image as simple as a white board drawing will give the leader’s communication a lasting impression.
• Ezekiel used everyday objects such as the storm. This object was so easily understood that it supported the point of the vision rather than detract from it.
• In the same vision that used everyday objects such as the storm, Ezekiel stretched the mind of the listener with his vision of the unearthly chariot and its wheels that formed the throne of God. Wise leaders use communication to stretch the mind of their teammates.
• Ezekiel’s word picture was motivational and gave incentive to listen to what would be said in the rest of the prophecy. Wise leaders see each communication as part of a process not an end.

Have you fallen into a rut in how you communicate? Are you making assumptions that your team knows what they should do and only need encouragement from you to complete the job? The exiled Jewish people knew exactly why they were in exile but God sent Ezekiel to keep the goals for change in front of them. Effective leaders use creative communication to help their team stay focused on the goals and to sustain forward momentum.