The Communication Problem Solver 9

The Communication Problem Solver 9. Managers need top-flight communication skills to keep their staffs productive and collaborative. But often, those who manage lack the ability to get things back on track once miscommunication occurs. This book helps readers analyze their communication skills and challenges and explains how they can use simple problem-solving techniques to resolve the people issues that derail productivity at work. Easily accessible and filled with real world management examples. This no-nonsense guide is packed with practical tools to help any manager be immediately effective, as well as a handy list of common communication problems and corresponding solutions....
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The Communication Problem Solver 9 T HE S ECRETS TO C REATING AND S USTAINING E NERGIZED R ELATIONSHIPS and the deadline are important. This leads to being able to trust that the next assignment will be significant, not just another flurry of activity with no follow-up. With follow-up, a manager can be viewed as consistent, orga- nized, and trustworthy. In addition, people are more likely to ask questions of their managers when their managers approach them about progress on an assignment. This helps keep a project on track. Problem 6. General Communication Issues Throughout the Organization • There is a lack of communication in terms of sharing project information. • People often say, ‘‘I have a better way’’ rather than collaborating. • There are trust issues. • There are personality blocks. Hidden behind or underlying these complaints are informal and unwrit- ten expectations that people have of one another at work. They expect clear communication and are unhappy when it is not achieved. Teams of leaders and managers up to C-suite in one company made the above observations. But they are universal dilemmas. And they can be handled with the intention to be great communicators. Let’s go through the list of problems and look at how a manager can contribute to solutions. Solution: Examine General Communication Issues Throughout the Organization Lack of communication in terms of sharing project information will improve when the organizational obstacles are resolved. Perhaps implementing a companywide online project management system would help. This is worth investigating in terms of needs, cost, time, payback, and staff time com- pared to what the cost is of not doing it. If people say, ‘‘I have a better way,’’ ask yourself, why? Do organiza- tional obstacles such as forms and workflow create it because of the confu- sion? What are the ideas for a better way? Perhaps create a method for opinions to be aired, such as an invitation to submit ideas in writing when an organizational issue is going to be examined and a change might result. Trust issues will improve when interdepartmental processes and con- flicting priorities are discussed and peer managers work together toward common goals. Each individual manager must still work on open communi- cation and relationship building. When staff members mention that personality blocks are interfering with62— C OMMUNICATING Y OUR E XPECTATIONS : W HAT TO S AY AND H OW TO S AY I T their work, it is an opportunity to increase understanding of and communi- cation with others. Every workplace has a diverse array of personality types with behavioral preferences in terms of how they deal with data and people. Human Resources can help with behavioral style assessments. Participants score their answers to behavioral assessments and recognize how varied people are in terms of thinking, analyzing, taking care of other people’s interests, and taking action. Many times differences and lack of communi- cation between people are suddenly explained in a logical way. Managers can choose to flex their own style in order to work better with people who act in a different style. Work with your Human Resources department to identify an assessment and an approved way of using one in your group if you want the group members to understand each other better and to be- have with greater understanding toward each other. Ideally, clarifying expectations and working together across the organi- zation should be handled at the top echelon of the organization. But realisti- cally, attempts to resolve issues at other levels may preclude the information from getting to top management. Grassroots efforts are every manager’s responsibility. Each manager needs to be responsible for listening to and resolving organizational and communication issues as much as possible. This starts with preventing problems in the first place by keeping direct re- ports informed with clear expectations and information about why their tasks and projects are important.● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●Elevating the Importance of the Expectations:Why Should They Care?Help your staff understand why the work they do individually and as agroup makes a difference. Be sure all expectations are transparent toeveryone. Have regular team meetings so that direct reports can describetheir roles and project progress to each other. This keeps everyone in-formed. Communicate the what and why of tasks and projects. Withinyour own group, what are the department goals and how do they alignwith corporate goals? Ferret out information that will help your directreports see the reason their work makes a difference to them and to thecorporat ...