Communication

Happy Thursday Everyone,

Communication, it's the exchange of information.  I saw somewhere that the single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.  Do you realize how much confusion and frustration is created by poor communication?  If you think like I do, my communication skills are almost perfect....it's everyone else that has the problem...lol, wink, wink.  We probably spend more time second-guessing the intent behind poor communication than working to improve it.

• Why did she copy my boss?
• He is not telling me all the information on purpose, just to make my job harder.
• Oh, she didn't copy me on purpose.

Sound familiar?  Communicating well will help build trust in our teams.  Here is a list of a few common mistakes in communication, that deserve all of our attention.

1. Assuming Mal Intent - Not everything is intentional, so don't let an innocent oversight, like being left left off an e-mail or out of a meeting, destroy trust.
2. Hiding Behind E-Mails - E-mails can be great for recapping a conversation, but not as a way to communicate bad news, escalate something over their head to their boss,  or sending and assuming they got the memo.
3. Failure To Write Down Decisions - Great teams have lots of conversations, debate pros and cons, challenge each others decisions, and many times walk away from a meeting with different perspectives.  Writing down and agreeing on important decisions and follow ups help keep everyone moving in the same direction.
4. Wasteful Meetings - Meetings should be held for one of two reasons: to make a decision and / or improve relationships.
5. Spinning BS - Smelling BS in a conversation turns people away fast.  Transparency and straight talk from the beginning are a must if you want others to truly listen.
6. Don't be Boring - Tell meaningful stories, talk in an interesting way, and get to the point.
7. Listen - Listen intently so that you can ask relevant questions and get a true understanding of what the other person is trying to communicate.

What can you do to improve your communication skills?  Just like we have been discussing with lean, find something small and work on improving, one small improvement at a time.  I am going to focus on listening more intently and giving my full attention to the person talking to me.  Todd is probably shaking his head right now saying, about time.

Go communicate,

Chris