Communication is something that we do every day. New decisions are made or some new request is brought up and you do your best to get the information out to your team. When you are in so many meetings, leading a project and a team it becomes a challenge every single day. How can you get the information out the fastest? It may be in the form of an email, text, instant message, voicemail or if you are lucky, a real conversation. Is it any wonder that things can be misunderstood, never received or the communication never actually happens?
Here are some examples of one type of communication issue:
- Sally has already figured out that she wants to change her career. When she tells her co-worker John that she is going to do that, he is caught a little off guard. Not because she is doing it, but because she hasn’t mentioned it before. When he asks her questions about why she is doing it, she gets defensive and feels like he isn’t supporting her decision.
- Jordan is presenting information about a problem that is occurring on a project that she is leading. She brings in Jack to explain the technical solution he has found to solve the problem. He is asked questions about how he reached this solution and is he sure it will work? He begins to get frustrated with all the questions and starts to get defensive.
These are two examples of what I used to call “bringing the other person along for the journey” to my team. It is sometimes hard to remember that the other person hasn’t been in all of the conversations (some of which may only occur in your own head) so they are asking questions. Step back and think about what you have communicated. Put yourself in their position to understand why they may be asking you questions. Don’t get defensive about it and assume that they don’t support you. Do you need to step back and share how you came to that decision? Do you need to share the journey you went through that led you to that decision? It may take a little more time to step back and review, but it will eliminate frustration and defensiveness on both sides. Communicating effectively with very little time is a big challenge. Looking for the signs of multiple questions, frustration and your own defensiveness can help you see where you can step back and review so everyone is on the same page.
Announcement on the ReVISION Program: We have had a great response to the program! Thank you to all who have expressed interest! We have been asked if we could offer it at different times to allow everyone the opportunity to be a part of it.
In order to do that we are moving the start date to February 20th where sessions will be available at Noon (CST) and 7:00pm (CST).
We will also offer an 8:00am on February 21st.
If you haven’t heard about the program yet or would like more information, you can click on this link!