The Illusion of Transparency
Leaders assume their priorities and frustrations are plain to everyone. Research on the illusion of transparency shows your inner state leaks out far less than it feels like it does.
You've worried about one account for three weeks, so surely your team knows it's the priority. That certainty is the illusion of transparency, and it's usually wrong.
In 1998, Thomas Gilovich, Kenneth Savitsky and Victoria Husted Medvec put it to the test. People who told lies to a group overestimated how many listeners would catch them. People who tasted an unpleasant drink while keeping a straight face believed their disgust showed far more than it did.
The cause is an anchor. You feel your own state from the inside, loudly. When you picture how you look, you start from that noise and adjust too little.
From the outside, your team sees a calm face and a full calendar. The worry about the account hasn't registered. Neither has your irritation with slipping deadlines. So people work hard on whatever was last said out loud.
The nudge: Once a week, say the thing you assume is obvious. "The one priority this month is the Tanaka renewal." If it feels redundant, you're about right.
Source: Gilovich, Savitsky & Medvec, The illusion of transparency: Biased assessments of others' ability to read one's emotional states, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (1998)
