Don’t bury the lead.

19 August 2025

So much of leadership is about communication.
And yet… I see so many leaders struggle to get to the point.

They start at the beginning.
They walk you through the timeline.
Incident by incident.
Detail after detail.

By the time they get to the main point, the audience has moved on.

📖 That “start-to-finish” style works for storytelling — when you have someone’s full attention.
But most of the time… you don’t.

Instead, think like a newspaper editor.
(Back when we had newspapers 📄).

Reporters were told: “𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱.”
Put the big reveal - the most important part - right at the top.

I coach people to use a 𝗽𝘆𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸:

🔺 𝗧𝗼𝗽 - The headline. The outcome.
Best if it’s quantified.
→ “We increased revenue by 28% in 6 months.”

⬇️ 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 - Supporting information.
The key elements behind the result.

⬇️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 - How it was achieved.

⬇️ 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 - Obstacles overcome.

You start with the point that matters most.
Then only go deeper 𝗶𝗳 the listener wants more.

This takes skill.
It means distilling your story to the essence — not drowning it in backstory.

🎬 Movies save the reveal for the end.
📰 Newspapers (and great leaders) put it at the start.

So, when you communicate with your team, your boss, or your customers…
Don’t bury the lead.
𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘁.