| A top corporate executive made a comment during a plant visit that its maintenance budget looked a little high. The next thing he knew, the plant managers had made drastic cuts – which wasn’t at all what he had intended. To encourage dialogue, some executives deliverately present themselves informally to subordinates. They adopy an “affiliative” communication style, in which they acknowledge errors and ask employees questions. Senior execs like your boss probably have even less time in their schedules than you do. Don’t wait for your boss to tell you what he or she wants. Use the following three questions to structure your communication: “What” – Which information is most important, in what level of detail and in what format (voicemail, email, memo, etc.) “So What?” – Why is this information important? and lastly “Now what?” – How should you act on it? What are your goals? Give it a try – anything that increases the level and quality of communication has to be a winner. Stats show us that communication breakdowns are the #1 cause for relational failure – of all kinds. Say what you mean and mean what you say. |
