Communication is the lifeblood of a workplace. It is the mechanism to transfer information from senior management to employees (downward communication), employees to senior management (upward communication) and communication among colleagues (horizontal communication).
Communication of all types as described above whether it is formal or informal takes place all the time at work. This communication with and among employees or lack of this communication can make or break relationships and even an organization!
This year, in 2013 we have decided to make a difference to our lives at work. Last week, we discussed the ‘Complete you at Work’ strategy. The important lessons are:
Make meetings productive
Communicate the KISS way
Celebrate success
Failure can be changed to success
Your team is critical
Communication is a common factor that is present throughout these lessons and communication is the factor that will make a difference to your work personality!
You would have worked with all sorts of communicators…’the gasbags’, ‘the indifferent’, ‘the clinical’, and ‘the useful’.
The gasbags can talk up the worst project and their seniors and work hard at marketing themselves
The indifferent are the ‘yes’ people who don’t have an opinion on anything and remain quiet and make no contribution
The clinical are very to the point and come up to you when they “need” you to help, get their work done off you and move on
The useful are those who say the right things and make meaningful conversation. We all like this type.
There would be many more communicating personalities but in the context of building your work personality the most relevant is “the useful” type.
Some principles for the ‘useful’ type of communication include:
- This type of communication uses the KISS principle of communication to begin with. Just Keep It Short and Simple
- Saying the right things includes the 5 Wives and 1 Husband in the communication. The 5Ws include Who, When, What, Why and Where and the 1H is How
- Being genuine with no pretence is an absolute must. Don’t hide behind fancy words
- Tell people all that they need to know to do their jobs. Be transparent and honest
- Be aware of the situation while communicating. Use empathy where necessary but be curt when needed. But all times take into consideration the situation, the person you are talking with and the tone required
The above principles work well in any situation at work whether discussing a performance review or introducing a change program.
Do you have a communication principle that works well?
