Why sterile perfection is a barrier to trust

I loved seeing Guy Sebastian’s latest show in my home town. What a slick act - and his fabulous singers and band didn’t miss a beat.

But do you know what I enjoyed most?

The real moments, including a few slip-ups.

At one point Guy introduced a video that didn’t appear on the screen. He shrugged and said, “Well, that didn’t work!”

He grabbed his mic off the stand and partly broke it, laughing as he thanked the crew member who rushed to his rescue.

He casually walked out into the audience and asked for song requests (“Not my songs, other people’s”) and proceeded to sing whatever was suggested to him, sometimes reading the lyrics off phones thrust under his nose.

The point is, it’s human-ness and connection that people crave. The slickness of AI production is already wearing thin. 

As a leader, your teams want the REAL you. 

That doesn’t mean you need to air your dirty laundry or use team meetings as therapy. 

But owning your quirks and funny mis-steps – coupled with a willingness to be warm and real rather than restricting your communication to cool pronouncements – will build more trust than you might realise. 

Go for connection over perfection. It worked brilliantly for Guy – and I still think he’s pretty darned perfect.

And while we’re at it, let’s talk about why so much communication training doesn’t hit the mark – and what you should do instead.

Watch my latest video that has three solid takeaways: https://youtu.be/vmZ0LQRReGI