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Communication Breakdown

Guess what, they’re most likely tired of being dragged too!  One of the most common occurrences we find in business today is a communication disconnect between management and their team of employees.  Management wishes their staff would perform better (without having to be told what to do every 30 minutes)… and employees truly want to be part of the overall success.  I honestly don’t know of anyone who wakes up in the morning and says “Yippee! Today I am going to go to work and fail”.

Mixed Messages…

The reality is that this scenario often comes as a result of well intended, but often very rapid, and confusing communications across an organization.  The result is “mixed messages” and disappointment on both sides.  These inconsistent messages lead to a tendency for the participants to play it safe, stay under the radar or coast.  These behaviors lead to more disappointments, a breakdown in trust and this begins the erosion of the employer / employee relationship…and the erosion of building a strong clientele.

Limited Planning, Information Overload

The failure often comes as a result of trying to react to various pressures. There is often limited planning, preparation, and setting-up of expectations at the beginning.  After a while, both parties’ give-up (literally from exhaustion) and often both sides just settle – getting by and trying to survive the day.

More than ever, our days are long and non-stop.  We have become a society of “extreme multi-taskers”.  Did you know our brains are actually processing 400 billion bits of information every second?  It’s no wonder there are constant communication breakdowns!

Receiving these enormous amounts of information and performing our duties each day requires a lot of energy. To succeed we need to step back, identify the key goals and priorities. Next, as leaders we must provide consistent communication with clear guidance and support, as well as realistic expectations.

Step back and Analyze!

As humans, we know to solve puzzles by stepping back and analyzing the environment and data available.  Once we do so, we can increase the awareness of the various inputs and dynamics.   We can apply proven tactics to reduce the frustration of our puzzled, daily work lives too.   Join me as we discuss ways your team can be more productive with greater profits and improved morale – a benefit to be enjoyed by all!

What I’m seeing in today’s business climate is that leaders tend to go for what they perceive as the quick fix solution vs. use of more “performance results”, bigger picture, and strategic level thinking. For example, redesign of the employees’ jobs to include aspects that drive revenue, and use of incentives to reward top performance. Implementing these types of change is comparable to getting 10-20+ more miles per gallon from the existing “clunkers” – with a lot less collateral damage ending up at the scrap yard. Peace, – P