What Every Manager Should Know About Effective Workplace Communication

The first thing you should know if you want to bring out the best in people

is your people are people; they are not things. This may sound silly to say

given it's obvious however check yourself out. How often do you relate to

the people you work with as the decisions you've made about them - lazy,

reliable, cynical, resistant to change, outstanding, stubborn, etc., instead

of as dynamic beings? You have an experience of the person from the past that

led you to a conclusion and now that person is that way. That's relating to

them as a thing. They are now stuck in the box of your interpretations and

most everything they do is interpreted through your description of who they

are. In your world, they are lazy, or they are cynical.

Even a positive label can leave people feeling "thingified." For

example, Sally (not her real name) was considered a superstar at her office,

reliable, the "go to" person. Sally appreciated the accolades; however,

she was often left to fend for herself without support because everyone

thought, "Sally can handle it." When she requested help on her projects

it was not given the priority because her manager knew she would come

through. This treatment of Sally left her feeling not known or heard.

Ultimately, it led to her seeking employment elsewhere and her manager and

employer scratching their heads wondering what went wrong.

Making assessments of people and situations is natural and I am not

suggesting you stop doing it. You couldn't even if you tried. What I am

recommending is that you pay attention to the assessments you make, get

curious about how they influence your interactions with people and, perhaps

most importantly, question their validity often. Situations change and the

person's needs and capacities change with them.

Remember your assessments are just that, your assessments. They are not the

truth. They are the way you have connected the dots. Someone with a different

history and perspective can look at the same set of facts and come up with a

totally different assessment of the situation. It is not that that one of

you is right and the other is wrong it is just that assessments are born out

of a person's "back-story."

To bring out the best in people you must be present to who they are right

now, in this moment. Take the time and energy to get to know more than your

label. Get curious about the conditions that lead to their success, the

things that light a fire in their belly and what they need to be their best.

And remember, once you've reached those conclusions, keep testing them out.

Understanding someone is not a "one stop shopping" experience. People

change. They need different things in different situations. This way of

interacting with your team will make them want to give their best and look

for more ways to contribute. It might also get you a waiting list of people

who want the opportunity to come work for you. Now that's a nice problem to

have.