As a manager or leader in your organization, how many times have you held a staff meeting, issued a memo, or made a phone call only to have your “message” misunderstood? It happens. It happens often. The reason? Too many leaders and managers fail to understand their role in the communication process.
Just like every other critical function in your business, communication is a key business function that warrants evaluation and measurement metrics. When, as a leader, you need to get things done, it is your responsibility to follow up on your communication to ensure the message received matched your intentions as the sender. You need to follow up at the lowest level in your organization.
Let’s say you discussed information with a direct report on Monday and that information is suppose to trickle down. How much time out of your day will it take to call one, or even two, employees lower on the information chain to see how they interpreted the message – or if they even got it?
When things go wrong, poor communication is chief among the reasons given. As a leader, manager, or supervisor it is your responsibility to check on the effectiveness of your communication. It can make the difference between success and failure. Most important, treating your communication like a business process will increase your effectiveness as a leader. Who doesn’t want to do their best?
Lorrettajd