In the workplace, we typically communicate out of desire for some type of response or action. We provide needed information to motivate action. For those of us that are parents, we know what a challenge it can be to accomplish both. How often have you spoken incessantly about cleaning rooms, doing homework, or picking clothes off the floor to not avail? As children become teenagers, these exchanges can be explosive and lead to a variety of outcomes other than a clean room or a timely return in the evening. We all have communication filters and I have learned the hard way that as humans we develop fairly early in our lives. As leaders, we may feel that same way: no matter what and how I say something, I never end up with the outcome I hoped for when I started.
How do employees view communication coming their way? Employees typically categorize communication from supervisors based on its purpose and value filtered by their perceptions and experiences. As a result, even relatively satisfied employees interpret most communication as being either “smoke” or “bossing.” “Smoke” is useless information akin to “fluff” that has little real value to the employee, but is provided instead of meaningful information. “Bossing” is when a supervisor communicates directly or indirectly to request some type of action. Some employees go as far as considering the communicated information as being manipulative since the information is given not out of a desire to truly inform, but to influence.
Recently, I worked with an organization that was undergoing considerable change related to the recession. Managers in the organization described employees as having “action deafness” when they were asked to complete their assignments and duties. Basically, the fatigue of the recession, less availability of resources, and high levels of uncertainty coupled with an unwillingness of the leadership to clearly communicate the situation and future outlook made employees stop listening and shut down. When the communication patterns of the organization were reviewed in more detail, it became evident that middle managers were suffering from the same or even greater levels of fatigue and were not being communicated with either. Most responded that they wanted to counter the gossip and anxiety present in the organization with meaningful answers, but they needed guidance from their leaders. Like many communication issues, leadership needed to set the example. While leadership felt that more communication would show their lack of insight and planning, employees felt that they could not take action without more guidance and support.
When communication fails in an organization, normally the employees are blamed for not taking the appropriate action instead of the communication process or message. Two requirements must be present for the desired outcome of communication to occur: understanding and action. Those receiving the message have to understand what is needed and act on it for the communication to have been successful.
Figure 1 summarizes common outcomes from the communication process that you may have encountered before. A 2×2 table is utilized to demonstrate the common responses that help diagnosis the nature of the communication shortfall.
Less Understanding, No Action – When there is a lack of understanding and action, the common question you might hear is “what am I supposed to do?” It is the mantra of those that do not understand their job, role, or responsibilities. The cause of this issue usually relates to a lack of communication by the supervisor or poor comprehension skills in the employee. The message needs to be more clearly articulated.
More Understanding, No Action – When an employee understands the message, but does not act, the typical response is “why do I have to do this?” The employee understands what is required and may even begin part of the required action, but begins to question the relevance, necessity, or value of the action. This type of response will occur when there is a motivational or engagement issue or a lack of manager effort at aligning the required action with personal or organizational goals as part of the communication.
Less Understanding, Action – When an employee takes the appropriate action without a solid understanding of what is needed, at some point questions arise about “why am I doing this?” The most prevalent cause is a lack of comprehensive communication on the part of the sender or manager.
More Understanding, Action – The ideal outcome is that the employee understands the message and acts on it appropriately. An employee that is confident that he or she knows what to do and why will build on that stability and start to look for ways to grow.
You may have employees that fall into each of these categories. It is important to assess your messaging in the context of the receiver.
In our next post, we will turn our attention to the types of villains that impact communication.
howdy, superior post, and a very good understand! at least one for my favorites.
Have you considered adding some differing opinions to your article? I think it will really enhance my understanding.
I like that idea. I will see what I can do.
There are some interesting points in time in this article but I don’t know if I see all of them center to heart. There is some validity but I will take hold opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we want more! Added to FeedBurner as well
Wow great post I love it.
Thanks!
I wanted to inform you about how much my partner and i appreciate almost everything you’ve shared to help improve the lives of folks in this subject matter. Through your articles, we’ve gone through just a beginner to a specialist in the area. It can be truly a honor to your initiatives. Thanks
Never heard of that before, but thanks for opening up my eyes.
I am smitten by the way you handled this topic. It is not often I come across a website with charming articles like yours. I will make a note of your feed to stay up to date with your potential updates.Just impressive and do keep up the rational work.
Thanks for posting this article. I’m decidedly frustrated with struggling to search out germane and sound commentary on this matter. Everybody now goes to the very far extremes to either drive home their viewpoint that either: everyone else in the planet is wrong, or two that everyone but them does not really understand the situation. Many thanks for your concise, relevant insight.
WONDERFUL Post.thanks for share..extra wait .. …
This is a lot useful information. I must say I really like encountering this a lot. It aids me to become better understanding on the subject. It is all well and good published. I am going to definitely see these satisfied incredibly engaging. I hope it is possible to supply more sooner or later.
You made a few fine points there. I did a search on the issue and found the majority of persons will have the same opinion with your blog.
Thank you for this article!
It’s rare to locate a professional person in whom you will surely have some trust. In the world in the present day, nobody actually cares about showing others exactly how in this issue. How blessed I am to have actually found such a wonderful web-site as this. It really is people like you who really make a genuine difference in this world through the concepts they reveal.
It sounds like you’re generating troubles oneself by trying to solve this concern as an alternative of looking at why their is a difficulty in the first place
This website online is mostly a stroll-by means of for the entire information you wanted about this and didn’t know who to ask. Glimpse here, and also you’ll definitely uncover it.
great info thank you sir
sir, thanks really i was searching this
good post!
stellar journal you pick up
An interesting dialogue is worth comment. I believe that you should write more on this matter, it may not be a taboo topic but generally persons are not sufficient to speak on such topics. To the next. Cheers
You must take part in a contest for the most effective blogs on the web. I will suggest this website!
I’d must check with you here. Which is not something I usually do! I enjoy studying a submit that can make people think. Additionally, thanks for allowing me to remark!
I’m typically to running a blog and i actually admire your content. The article has actually peaks my interest. I’m going to bookmark your website and keep checking for new information.
Hey! I simply want to give a huge thumbs up for the good data you will have right here on this post. I shall be coming again to your blog for extra soon.
That is the fitting blog for anybody who needs to search out out about this topic. You notice a lot its almost onerous to argue with you (not that I actually would want…HaHa). You definitely put a brand new spin on a subject thats been written about for years. Great stuff, just nice!
Can I just say what a relief to search out somebody who actually knows what theyre talking about on the internet. You definitely know easy methods to bring a problem to mild and make it important. Extra people need to learn this and perceive this facet of the story. I cant imagine youre not more in style because you definitely have the gift.
There’s noticeably a bundle to learn about this. I assume you made sure nice factors in features also.
WONDERFUL Post.thanks for share..extra wait .. …
It’s onerous to search out knowledgeable people on this matter, however you sound like you recognize what you’re talking about! Thanks
I would like to voice my respect for your generosity giving support to individuals who really need guidance on your question. Your very own commitment to getting the message throughout ended up being certainly insightful and have without exception made regular people much like me to achieve their desired goals. Your personal useful useful information can mean a lot a person like me and somewhat more to my mates. With thanks; from all of us.
I thought it was going to be some boring old publish, but it really compensated for my time. I will publish a link to this page on my blog site. I’m confident my visitors will come across that quite useful
Someone I work with visits your orientation many times and recommended it to me to read also.
I’d come to make a deal with you on this. Which is not something I usually do! I love reading a post that will make people think. Also, thanks for allowing me to speak my mind!
Just wanted to give you a shout from the valley of the sun, great information. Much appreciated.
Pretty superior post. We just discovered ones web page in addition to wanted to help tell you of which We have quite enjoyed reading ones webpage in addition to reports. Anyways I’ll possibly be subscribing ones give in addition to When i wish to help study ones webpage once again.
Admiring the hard work you put into your website and detailed information you offer. It’s great to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same outdated rehashed information. Wonderful read! I’ve saved your site and I’m including your RSS feeds to my Google account.
Spot on with this write-up, I really suppose this website needs much more consideration. I’ll in all probability be again to learn much more, thanks for that info.
There is noticeably a bundle to find out about this. I assume you made sure nice factors in features also.
I am impressed, I must say. extremely seldom do I encounter a blog thats both academic and entertaining, and let me tell you, youve hit the nail on the head. Your post is important; the matter are a few things that not many people are speaking intelligently concerning. i’m very happy that I stumbled across this in my hunt for something with reference to it.
Thank you for your kind words. I appreciate it.
Comfortably, the blog post is during truthfulness a hottest on this subject well known subject matter. I agree with ones conclusions and often will desperately look ahead to your updates . Saying thanks a lot will not just be sufficient, for ones wonderful ability in your producing. I will immediately grab ones own feed to stay knowledgeable from any sort of update versions. Fantastic get the Work done and much success with yourbusiness results!
Have you considered applying to be a newpaper writer? Very winderful spelling!
Superb post.Never knew this, thanks for letting me know.
There may be noticeably a bundle to know about this. I assume you made certain good points in options also.
You may have not intended to do so, but I assume you’ve managed to express the state of mind that a lot of men and women are in. The sense of wanting to support, but not knowing how or exactly where, is some thing a lot of us are going through.
Whats up. Very cool web site!! Man .. Beautiful .. Superb .. I’ll bookmark your site and take the feeds additionally…I am satisfied to find numerous helpful info right here within the post. Thanks for sharing…
Have you ever considered adding more videos to your blog posts to keep the readers more entertained? I indicate I just examine through the entire write-up of yours and it was quite excellent but since I’m more of a visual learner,I discovered that to be more helpful well let me understand how it turns out! I enjoy what you guys are always up too. These clever work and reporting! Keep up the fantastic works guys I’ve added you guys to my blogroll. This can be a excellent post thanks for sharing this informative info.. I will visit your blog regularly for some latest publish.
You’ve got an excellent site. 🙂 I really enjoyed to visit it. I thank you for all that you share with us here. I’ll come again and again to see what’s new.
Many thanks for creating this place wonderful, i have to say i appreciate all of the diligence that you just do on this great web site.
I’m so happy to read this. This is the kind of details that needs to be given and not the accidental misinformation that’s at the other blogs. Appreciate your sharing this best doc.
Can I just say what a relief to search out somebody who actually knows what theyre talking about on the internet. You definitely know easy methods to bring a problem to mild and make it important. Extra people need to learn this and perceive this facet of the story. I cant imagine youre not more in style because you definitely have the gift.
I am genuinely thankful to author who work challenging to write this write-up. Its pretty informative article. Thanks again.
. Hello there, I found your website by the use of Google even as searching for a comparable topic, your site got here up, it seems to be great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
Thank you for one more crucial article. Exactly where else could everyone get that kind of information in these a total way of writing? I’ve a presentation incoming week, and I am around the lookout for this kind of information.
It’s some sort of shame you don’t employ a contribute button! I’d undoubtedly contribute to that brilliant weblog! When i suppose right now i’ll take bookmarking in addition to attaching ones Rss to help the The search engines bank account. When i glimpse forward to help new upgrades and may share that webpage having the Facebook or myspace crew: )
Enjoyed examining this, very good stuff, thankyou .
Have you ever thought about writing an ebook or guest authoring on other internet sites? I’ve a blog based on the very same topics you talk about and would love to have you share some stories/information. I know my visitors would appreciate your work. If you’re even remotely interested, feel cost-free to shoot me an e mail.
Simply a smiling visitor here to share the love (:, btw outstanding pattern .
I’ve been visiting your blog for a while now and I always find a gem in your new posts. Thanks for sharing.
You may have not intended to do so, but I think you have managed to express the state of mind that a lot of people are in. The sense of wanting to help, but not knowing how or where, is something a lot of us are going through.
Thank you so much for helpful information. i will visit your website again
I can see which you are putting a lots of efforts into your blog page. Keep posting the great function.Some really helpful details in there. Bookmarked. Good to see your internet site. Thanks!
Thanks for the article, I liked it’s content and style. I found this web site upon Yahoo and have now added this in order to my bookmarks. I’ll be sure to go to again soon.
Finally, a problem that I’m passionate about. I’ve looked for data of this caliber for the final numerous hrs. Your website is significantly appreciated.
It’s a good shame you don’t contain a contribute button! I’d undoubtedly contribute to that fantastic blog page! That i suppose for now i’ll accept bookmarking together with adding an individual’s Rss that will my best Msn balance. That i appearance forward that will recent upgrades and definitely will share the web site utilizing my best Facebook or twitter crew: )
you are sooo gifted on paper. God is truly making use of a person within tremendous methods. You are carrying out a excellent work! It was an excellent weblog!
I can’t say that I completely agree, but then again I’ve never really thought of it quite like that before. Thanks for giving me something to think about when I’m trying to have a blank mind while trying to fall asleep tonight lol..
Good to be visiting your blog again, it has been months for me. Well that article that i’ve been waited for so long. I need that article to complete my assignment in the college, and also it has exact same topic with your article. Thanks, wonderful share.
Great post, It is discussions such as this that keep everyone heading back again and checking this internet site regularly, thank you for your info. 🙂
Hello, you got excellent site, very rich in content, correctly carefully thought out, personally I found here much interesting and useful
Thanks for the article! Just browsing around online I get into some cool stuff. Anyways, back to school work…
Great postI was checking constantly this blog and I’m impressed! Very useful info specially the last part 🙂 I care for such information a lotI was looking for this particular information for a very long timeThank you and best of luck.
Do you mind if I quote a handful of of your content pieces as long as I supply credit and sources back to your internet site? My blog is in the equivalent area of interest as yours and my visitors would genuinely benefit from a lot of the facts you present here. Please tell me if it is okay with you. Many thanks!
I have problem with you including it if you provide a citation and link. Thanks for reading.
Thanks for the information.
I just added this web site to my feed reader, great stuff. Can not get enough!
Greeting from Japan 😀 I prefer your website, very much.
Well, I believe that clears up a few issues for me personally. Anyone else think so?
Thank you for this wonderfull blog
This is tough. Im not calling you out though, personally I think that its those that arent motivated to change.
This is a great post too. Bookmarked 🙂
Many thanks for using the time and effort to supply some thing that is effective
Wonderful site. A lot of useful information here. I’m sending it to several friends ans also sharing in delicious. And certainly, thanks for your sweat!
Your blog is so informative … keep up the good work!!!!
I must say great work on the blog. It truly gave me a good understanding on a topic I am not to familar with.
I am extremely impressed along with your writing talents as smartly with the structure on your weblog. Is this a paid subject or did you customize it yourself? Anyway stay up the excellent high quality writing, it’s uncommon to see a nice weblog like this one nowadays..
You would actually see your enthusiasm within the work you write. The world hopes for extra passionate writers such as you who aren’t afraid to say how they believe. Always observe your heart.
Hi! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I really enjoy reading your posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same topics? Thank you!
Great work! This is the type of info that should be shared around the web. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post higher! Come on over and visit my web site . Thanks =)
Nice Blog Man!! I would love if u update it daily..
I truly appreciate this post. I’ve been looking everywhere for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You’ve made my day! Thanks again
Should subscribe to this web site, great publish. Discovered it on google.
Keep the posting up. I never thought i might find an individual that had close to a similar grasp of worldly knowldege , however, you’re that beacon of hope in humanityI hope you continue to bring your knowldge and enlightenment to the globe and never let your expression be squelched Live strong
Me and my friend were arguing about an issue very much the same to this! Now I know that I was right. lol! Kudos for the information you article.
Does your blog have a contact page? I’m having trouble locating it but, I’d like to send you an email. I’ve got some ideas for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it expand over time.
The contact page is the third tab. Feel free to send me an email at jeff@humancapitaladviser.com. Thanks for reading!
I think this are high-quality recommendations and thank you so much for posting your opinion… also very good website! Congratulations…
You are posting recent blog entries on twitter as well? If so I would like to know your account, so I can follow you there and be informed.
I like this post. I wasnt really looking for your website to tell you the truth but i somehow found it and i gotta say I have no regrets about it. Please keep producing wonderful content such as this blog entry. Much appreciated.
Wonderful work! This is the type of info that should be shared around the web. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post higher! Come on over and visit my site . Thanks =)
Hello! I just now want to provide a huge thumbs up for that the wonderful information you might have here on this post.
I am returning to your website for additional soon.