All people interactions, whether short or longer, are, in fact, “relationships;” and successful communications goes a long way to sustaining a successful relationship. Ideally, when the people are peers, as in a marriage, good communication is both their job, however, when one person is subordinate to the other, such as parent and child, it becomes the higher ranking person’s responsibility. Human interaction in companies are also relationships with basic responsibility.

So, as a manager how do you make sure you are heard? Actually, it’s pretty simple, the more difficult part is always remembering to do it!

Recognize that all people have a mental model through which they hear, so the meaning of what they hear may have little to nothing to do with what was said. It’s a major error to assume that the person to whom you are talking has the same model as you.

• Start by carefully explaining your model and your assumptions when giving direction;
• give your people clear, complete information on the subject (what you want done, project outlines, etc., you do not want them to have to keep asking for more); and then
• check to be sure that they have actiually heard and understood your information, rather than their version of it.

Do it today, do it all the time; it may feel a bit akward at first, but eventually it’ll become second nature. Your payback will come in rising productivity, more motivated people, and lower turnover—all positively affecting your bottom line.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 6th, 2006 at 3:51 pm and is filed under Business info, Communication, Culture, Motivation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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