What’s the Most Effective Way to Deliver Challenge?
Welcome to another Toolkit Tuesday! Every week, our goal is to give you a practical leadership tool to put in your toolkit.
So There I Was...
I’ve seen many leaders like this in the Army. Motivated, responsible and committed to their people. But like a lot of leaders today, they rely heavily on text messaging for communication, especially when something needs to be addressed quickly.
Here’s an example. A soldier’s PT score (that’s the Army’s physical training test) drops for the second month in a row. Instead of pulling the soldier aside, the leader shoots off a quick message:
“Hey, I noticed your PT score dropped again. You need to get your act together or we’re going to have a problem.”
From the leader’s perspective, it’s direct and efficient. But to the soldier on the receiving end, it feels cold, impersonal and possibly even threatening. No context. No tone. No care.
The Challenge
Texting feels fast and efficient but when it comes to leadership, speed can kill clarity. The Support-Challenge Matrix helps leaders see that delivering challenge without support, especially through the wrong medium, almost always backfires.
The issue wasn’t the challenge itself. It was how it was delivered. And in this case, the choice of medium completely undermined the message.
The Tool: Power of the Medium
That’s where the Power of the Medium comes in. This tool breaks down the common mediums leaders use: text, email, phone, video and in-person. It shows how effective each one is for delivering challenge.
Here’s the breakdown:
Social Media 5% Just take a look at what's out there
Text scores 10% for bringing effective challenge
Email rises to 15%
Phone brings 35%, video 70% and in-person 95%
The more weight a message carries, the more personal the delivery should be.
Now imagine if the leader had handled it differently. Instead of texting, he pulled the soldier aside after formation and said:
“Hey, I saw your PT score dipped again. I know you're capable of more. What’s going on? Anything I can help with? Let’s work on a plan so you can crush it next time.”
Same challenge. Different medium. Radically different impact.
Why This Matters Now
Whether you lead in uniform or not, you’ve probably been tempted to challenge through text. But leadership isn’t just about transferring information. It’s about transformation. And transformation happens when people know you care enough to show up with the right tone, at the right time, in the right way.
Using the wrong medium might get the message out but it won’t get it through. And over time, it erodes trust.
The Result
When leaders stop defaulting to convenience and start communicating with intention, everything shifts. Trust increases. Engagement improves. People don’t just hear the challenge. They feel the support behind it and rise to meet it.
Take Action
Audit your recent communication: Where are you defaulting to text or email for difficult messages?
Are your messages being ignored, misunderstood or misinterpreted? Schedule a strategy call so we can work together to transform the culture of your business.
Closing the Loop
In the military, we used to walk side by side to deliver hard news. Then we started typing it with our thumbs. But leadership was never meant to be outsourced to a screen.
Choose the right medium and your message will not just be sent. It will be received.
Lead hard!
