What is the constant factor common to all business managers, no matter what type or size of business they manage? COMMUNICATION!
And what could all of us improve? COMMUNICATION!
The search for sources of frustration in the business manager's life need go no further than communication. This is especially noteworthy when one considers that messages go both ways: saying and writing effectively is critical in management but so is listening and reading effectively. After all, everyone else in the company and all of the customers, investors and vendors have a stake in getting messages to the manager.
The toll caused by messages not accurately received creates business loss, time lost, tempers gone out of control day in and day out. When work assignments are misunderstood production goes wrong. When safety instructions are inaccurate accidents happen. Orders improperly filled or inaccurately billed or sent to the wrong address lead to lost tempers and lost business. If the tone in your voice is misinterpreted or you do not pay attention to what a worker is telling you feelings will get hurt and loyalty may be lost. In other words, good communication is not an option but a necessity for the success of business. As a manager you already know that your stress level will rise and fall with the success or lack of success in the business. And as a human being you also already know that poor communication is in and of itself very frustrating.
Here are four fundamentals that come in handy as a checklist and guide for improving communicatioin.
Write down phone numbers, addresses and relevant information as you receive them over the phone. Then read it back to check for accuracy. Yes, such a habit might add as much as one minute to every phone call. That one minute conveys to the callers that you value their message. That habit will save you hundreds of hours of grief, frustration and problems every year.
Stay focused. The rule of thumb is that you talk about one topic and only one topic at a time. The topic changes to a new topic only after discussion of the first topic is completed. The temptation to drift off into related topics is there for everyone all the time. A communication starts off about vacation schedules and quickly becomes an account of the big fish caught last time or the golf game coming up on the weekend - unless you insist on sticking to the first topic.
Listen to what you are being told. Managers have a great deal that they need to communicate to others. It is only natural that you would feel pressured to "get your message across". But remember: those to whom you are speaking probably also have a great deal they would like to communicate to you and you, not they, are the one who is difficult to access. Their time with you is limited and valuable. So listen and let them know you are listening. The motto is that you will not be heard unless you have first listened. A simpler way of saying it is that one- way communication doesn't work very well. It gets old in a hurry.
Do one conversation at a time. Translation: only take one phone call at a time, only have conversation with one person at a time and only listen to one message at a time. When there are more than one conversations going on between you and other people it has become a meeting. Do not allow conversations to turn into meetings.
Sometimes it helps to look back over the day to note where was the stress. For example: was there a point when you had somebody in front of you wanting to talk, somebody on hold and several important emails waiting for a reply? Did you get ambushed by several different people wanting your ear at the same time? Did you get customer complaints about incorrect billings? Did an employee or colleague complain to you that you never listen? Did you lose messages? Did you write down a wrong phone number or accidentally delete a cell phone message? These are the types of day-in day-out frustrations that add up to stress. They signal good starting points for improvement in communication.
As you read these simple points you might find yourself wondering about the small and un-dramatic nature of what is being discussed. After all, isn't business supposed to be a big-time challenge? Isn't stress management dramatic? Nope! It is made up of small, humdrum activities! It is for the most part humble stuff!
Improving in these areas is good for business and very good for you!
del.icio.us · digg this · spurl · reddit · furl this
