Forget your expertise
You may think your expertise is your main source of added value in your job. In fact, your ability to communicate clearly and constructively is at least as important! Yet 69% of managers say they feel uncomfortable when interacting with their employees. Oops!
If you’re one of them, explore these different possibilities:
- Make an effort, when it’s relevant, to do more than merely convey information and try to strengthen the relationship by using open-ended questions, for example. These will encourage your employees to go deeper into the conversation. So replace: “Are you going to hit your targets this week?” with: “What do you need to hit your targets this week?” It changes everything!
- Train yourself to spot what reveals a value judgment in your conversations, such as: “John, you’re always late, you have no respect for our team”. Instead, try: “John, you’re late, and I have a feeling that this team meeting isn’t important to you”, as this gives John an opportunity to explain himself.
- Sometimes the best way to communicate is to say nothing! Listen to the person you’re talking with, give them your attention, and curb your reflex to look for an answer. You will already be practicing an effective form of communication.
You also communicate clearly by what you don’t say!
To go further
« 3 ways to improve communication in the workplace »
Jory MacKay (Rescue Time blog, June 2018).
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