Delving Deeper into Delta Communication

Four different perspectives on successfully communicating with Deltas

A new paid subscriber waxed enthusiastic about the recent post on Delta communication and its various pitfalls.

The article "Communicating with Deltas" about the Delta Non-Maskable Interrupt priority flip was the most valuable management-related thing I've ever read. I realized in an instant I'd been falling prey to it, and changed how I interact with my deltas. It will save me literally hundreds of hours of time going forward.

There were also a number of very good and incisive comments from men of varying SSH ranks and women on the subject, including this one from a Delta:

1. In some cases, I think it's projection. Without understanding SSH, don't most people assume that other people's minds work pretty much the same way as their own? So deltas will make an assumption about priorities based on what a delta would do.. and an alpha would be confused about the delta not understanding "simple instructions" because he's assuming the delta's mind should work like his.

2. Deltas don't always have the big picture, so we don't know what is actually the priority. And we are not mind readers.

3. Many deltas have learned the hard way that asking for clarification can be a bad idea, especially if the boss is a gamma in a situational alpha position who will treat you like crap for it. So we generally default to assuming that if B is now urgent, then A must no longer be as urgent. Otherwise, why are you telling us about B? We can only do one thing at a time.. especially if it's something complex.

An ideal interaction for a delta might go something like this:

Alpha: Please do A as soon as possible.

Delta: Yes, sir! Right on it.

LATER:

Alpha: I really need B done. Can you get that done for me?

Delta: Of course, but I am not done with A yet. Which is priority?

Alpha: Finish A, then do B as soon as humanly possible. (or vice versa)

Delta: Thanks for clarifying. I'm on it.

Or even better: Alpha (or his Bravo) maintains a task list for the deltas.. and rearranges tasks by priority as needed. Delta is responsible to make sure he's doing the tasks according to priority.

Deltas want nothing more than to do a good job. Just make the instructions crystal clear and everyone will be happy.

The essential problem, of course, can be seen right here, which is the result of the Delta’s projection, lack of empathy, and prioritization of self-protection over the mission.

We generally default to assuming that if B is now urgent, then A must no longer be as urgent. Otherwise, why are you telling us about B?

Notice how the Delta describes how he literally defaults to sacrificing everyone else as well as the larger mission due to nothing more than his own lack of imagination and his desire to avoid conflict. This is the most informative description of Delta narcissism I’ve ever seen.

A Bravo share his impression, as as Bravos will do, took the Deltas to task:

As a bravo, when I'm given those kinds of instructions, I don't quietly just accept them and move on - stopping the previous task I've been given. I bring up issues, "If you want that done by this deadline, I can do it but it will mean sacrificing this."

Or

"I will need to move this team around from Task X to task Y to accomplish the new goal. Which is the priority?"

If there are no issues, nothing gets said. But if there are issues, I don't just change things *just because* without saying anything. There is no simply doing it. I do not assume that my job is the most important, because my job is to accomplish GOALS. That's what the entire hierarchy is there for, which most deltas don't understand.

The hierarchy exists to GET WORK DONE. Not just YOUR TASK, but everyone’s. The whole company's mission.

Of which, the delta's mission is merely a single part. A cog. He's a private, if one was talking military terms. Which is great. The military is made up of many privates, and needs them to get the job done! It cannot function without them, and them doing what needs to be done, without worrying about what the other people are doing to a large extent.

This post is just, in large part, about other people learning that we need to not ask Deltas to not be not-Deltas. And to communicate to them as they are, or we'll get our asses handed to us sooner or later. Most Bravos and Alphas simply do not, and never will, think the way you do. Communicate the way you do. It literally takes us dumbing down how we think to talk to you the way that you need to be talked to, because we're constantly thinking in terms of patterns, systems, and organizations - which you never are.

You are thinking in terms of tasks and how a specific type of specialization works, often which you're far more educated and intelligent than I or your bravo/alpha might be. But you still might be common sense dumb, and ruin the business, because you have no idea how to integrate it with how to make money, run a company, or socialize with people in a manner that doesn't make them not-crazy.

The key observation there is that both sides understand the failure inherent in projecting their own thought processes and communication styles on the other party. There is indeed the seed of an entire business management book here, perhaps an entire series, given the way in which this issue plagues every single organization attempting to accomplish anything. I’ve witnessed it myself several times this week alone, including one aspect upon which we haven’t even touched, which is some of the related problems with intra-Delta communications.

Of course, when it comes to female communications, Deltas are hardest hit, as Lacey illustrates in her lovely style.

The single slot feature is probably why my husband gets so irritated when I ask him to do thing A... and thing B, and then thing D and C while he's out, oh and it's Wednesday so let's do some E. Wait, A isn't done? Fine, I'll do it myself! Why don't you care about my feelings?

My thought is that all of this reminds me of why I would vastly prefer to leave management and hierarchy oversight to the Alphas of the world. But it also provides some potential solutions to actual problems I’ve been repeatedly facing over the years, and makes clear my own failure to perform some necessary tasks and shoulder some necessary responsibilities.