Can we place too much emphasis on the need for open and effective communication? There are entire books, lectures, and even professional organizations dedicated to researching and improving overall communication in the workforce. What all this attention on communication says to us is first, it is critical to individual and organizational performance and second, we all still struggle with open and effective communication.
In today’s work place it is critical to know and understand that the key predictor of organizational performance lies in individual leader behaviour. So too it follows that the effectiveness of a leader’s behaviour is demonstrated in how that leader chooses to communicate with peers, colleagues, and front line staff.
Sharing and coordinating critical information continues to be problematic and an area for improvement for many organizations and accredited institutions. The means, modes and style of communication vary, depending on the person, purpose, urgency, and goal of the information. What does not vary is the fact that all parties in a communication are both giver and recipient.
As the giver, if you are not soliciting a response or feedback of some kind, there’s a high probability for ineffective communication. As the recipient, if you are not asking for confirmation or submitting questions, again, there’s a high probability for ineffective communication. And this scenario is most likely to occur in the case of electronic means of delivery – ‘email’!… the number one means of communication in this day and age. Ineffective communication results when the exchange between giver and recipient does not exist in a communication, as often the case in an email exchange.
Communication starts and stops all effective collaborations. The causes of ineffective communication are a mixture of both organizational and human factors. The number one organizational factor of ineffective communication is the lack of focus and training around the importance of great communication, with the understanding that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution. Other high ranking organizational factors are time pressures, work stress, a multilayered corporate structure, language incompatibilities, and information overload.
Of course all of these factors affect every leader differently. As an organization, it is imperative to start with leader behaviour principals and mindset. The skill of Positive Presence is the place to begin the journey of bringing effective communication to every corner of your organization.
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.