Communicating for Success in Management

COMMUNICATING

FOR SUCCESS IN MANAGEMENT

Virginia B. Bautista08.16.2010

COMMUNICATION: The Manager Style

Meet Manager 1: His name is Mr. Taylor He manages the Information

Technology in a division A communication satisfaction

survey result was communicated to him.

Communicating for SUCCESS in management 2

The findings:THE STAFF WAS LESS THAN

SATISFIED. Mr. Taylor’s reaction: Defensive, combative


Mr. Taylor said:

“Why should I take my time to ensure that people understand? I send e-mails because then I know that I’ve communicated my message. Then I don’t have to worry about it. They got my message. Meetings like this are a waste of my time and the company’s time.”


Mr. Taylor is a manager that uses the

ARROW approach.


What is effective communication?

“Being able to clearly and precisely put my thoughts into words.”

“Speaking with credibility and authority on topics I know about.”

“Getting the results I want by talking to my people.”


The ARROW Manager’s Assumptions about Communication Effectiveness

“Being able to clearly and precisely put my thoughts into words.”

What is clear and precise to one person is clear and precise to the other.


“Speaking with credibility and authority on topics I know about.”


Credibility is something the speaker possesses and not something given to the speaker by the audience.


“Getting the results I want by talking to my people.”


Communication is primarily a one-way activity.


You are an ARROW manager if:

You focus on accurately encoding your thoughts into language – much like selecting, aiming, and firing arrows at a target.

You see communication as a one-way activity based primarily on the skills of the sender.


You view receivers as passive processors of information who react appropriately if the words are “on the mark.”

You think feedback is not only improbable, but also unnecessary.

You are an ARROW manager if:


ARROW MANAGERS believe that:

Effective expression = Effective communication


Why do managers adopt this style?

The technical training of many managers reinforces a stimulus/response orientation.

They think their “Speech teacher” style works.

Certain people may have personality predispositions to communicate in this way.


Meet Manager 2:

Mark is district sales manager for a national life insurance company.

His office visits to “touch base” with the sales agents in his district were met with eager anticipation.

Why? Mark conducted his “meetings” in off-site

locations, e.g. golf course or ski village.


For Mark, the meeting agenda was equally stimulating because the team rarely talked about business, production goals, or skill development.

Mark was a master of rapport , camaraderie, and a team environment.


He assumed that because the agents “felt good” about working for him, and hence the company, they would then be more motivated to produce.

The result? A happy, cohesive team that

improved on their golf scores more than their selling skills or sales record.


Everybody loved Mark but few respected his managerial abilities.

Mark is a CIRCUIT manager.


“Effective communication is actively listening to my coworkers, so I know what makes them happy.”

“I’m effective as a manager when I am sensitive to employees’ needs and concerns. Then I try to commmunicate that sensitivity by adapting my message to each individual.”



“My communication is effective when my employees feel included and understood.”



The CIRCUIT Manager’s Assumptions about Communication Effectiveness

Job satisfaction is the goal or organizational communication.

Messages are exclusively interpreted in the context of interpersonal relationships.

Openness is useful in all circumstances.


Understanding will lead to agreement.

Understanding is the primary goal and is always more acceptable than ambiguity.

The CIRCUIT Manager’s Assumptions about Communication Effectiveness


Understanding = Effective communication

CIRCUIT MANAGERS believe that:


The human relations school of management has influenced many leaders.

Some Communication teachers encourage a Circuit orientation.

Some people have a natural affinity for the Circuit orientation.

Why do managers adopt this style?


Causes of Communication Breakdown in both approaches

Arrow managers treat communication as an event, and not as a process.

People just “don’t connect.”

Circuit managers spend vast amount of time in “reaching an understanding” and “building relationships.”


The words “Just read my e-mail,” or “Read my lips” create an illusion that meaning resides in words.

People are poor listeners. The Circuit manager believes that

communication relationships, like electrical circuits, can operate only under certain conditions.


Communication as a Dance

Dance involves patterns, movements, and creativity.

There are as many styles of dance as there are people.

Tastes in dance vary, styles change, and trends come and go.

It is unrepeatable and irreversible.


The same are true with COMMUNICATION.


BASIC PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION

Communication is used for multiple purposes.

The scientist, politician, salesperson, philosopher, and preacher may be using the same language, but with different objectives or intentions.


Communication involves coordination of meanings. “Communication is the process by

which persons co-create, maintain and alter patterns of social order, but… the coordination of talk through which patterns of order emerge is not necessarily based on mutual understanding or a shared social reality.”– COORDINATED MGMT. OF MEANING



Communication involves co-orientation.

Effective communicators can forecast with some accuracy the actions of others, their responses, and interpretations.



Communication is rule-governed.

A wide range of implicit rules govern conversations, e. g. who has the right to initiate or terminate a conversation, and what topic are appropriate to talk about.



2 Types of Rules in communication

Regulative rules – guide or regulate action of the communication event.

Example: If a person’s comments are unclear, then ask for clarification.

Interpretation rules – communicators’ rules for abstracting the meaning out of a message.


Example of interpretation rules

When a manager says, “Tell me more,” what does he mean?


Remember this:

Understanding is not the goal, but the means to attain the goals of an organization.


How can managers use their knowledge on effective communication in their jobs?

Explore the Employees’ context.

The more managers know about the context in which employees interpret actions and messages, the greater the likelihood that they can actually predict the probable interpretations.


MBWA

Management by wandering around helps managers learn about employee attitudes, environment, needs and desires.

This can help managers design their communication taking into consideration the bg of the employees.


Carefully manage employee expectations

Example: If the employees expect wage increase, and then the manager announced that no salary increase will happen, employees would feel bad about the announcement.

However, if the employees expect job losses or retrenchment, then the no-salary-increase announcement would still be “good news” for them.


Think about the possible interpretation and misinterpretation of messages, events, and symbols.

If communication can fail, it will! Managers can’t be 100% certain

that their messages will be understood as intended.


Pay attention to secondary messages.

Listen to what the people are not saying.

Pay attention to non-verbal cues. Examine the way people dress, put

on make-up, purchase items, or even the way they spend their break time or “idle” hours at work.


Carefully frame messages.

To frame means to hold a particular meaning over another.

Sharing our own frame with others is managing meaning with them.


Sculpt the proper context. Build enough frames and a context

emerges. Skilled managers and companies carefully

craft contexts by artfully accentuating certain interpretations while chiseling away others.

Example: Put your company mantra all over the workplace.

Consistently use the company mantra as bases for the employee development program.


COMMUNICATING THE CORPORATE CULTURE

CULTURE includes the entire symbolic environment;CULTURE defines reality;CULTURE defines what is, what should be, and what can be.

CORPORATE CULTURE

The underlying belief and value structure of an organization collectively shared by the employees and symbolically expressed in a variety of overt and subtle ways.


Does culture matter?

Culture influences how an organization analyzes and solves problems.

Culture influences how the company will respond to changes.

Culture impacts employee motivation and customer satisfaction.


How can leaders effectively communicate the culture?

The effective leader teaches employees what the corporation values, why it is valued, and how to transform values into action.

Employees, thru the assistance of the manager, must be able to transform corporate mantra into personal commitments and experiences.

Every manager creates a kind of subculture within the company culture.


Strategies for communicating values:

Craft actionable cultural statements. The company’s VMG must be

specifically worded, and not too ambiguous.


Appropriately socialize employees. When an employee is newly hired, be

sure to let him mingle with the “right” employees who have the “right” values consistent with the company’s.

The way employees talk to one another, the office design, and even the hiring process are all indicators of the corporate culture.



Research indicates that the initial weeks of employment are a critical period for the manager to exert influence.

Supervisors, to some extent, lose their power to shape the values, beliefs, and behaviours of employees after the first month or so.– THIS IS THE REASON TRAINING IS IMPORTANT!



Develop symbolic reminders of the core values.

Symbols reinforce critical values, acting as continual reminders of what the organization stands for.

Example: The IQUAME and ISO certifications are posted in offices.



Link values with specific behaviours Values are abstract concepts. These

values must be translated to tangible items.

Example: Wal-Mart: 10-foot rule to better serve the customers. Employees who come as close as 10 feet with a customer shall “look him in the eye, greet him, and ask him if he can help him.”



Other examples: Imperial Inc. has a “Two rings are

plenty” rule. This means that when a phone rings, someone has to answer within two rings. This translates customer service into tangible behavior.

AUF-IS values strong belief in God, so as its form of greeting, students say, “Pax et venia a Deo.”


Filter information through the values.

Managers use the company values to structure information.

With all the information available, the manager should be able to find a “focus” by highlighting significant information related to the values of the organization.



Tell the right stories and create opportunities to originate stories.

George Gerbner: “The control of any culture is dependent on those who control the stories that are told.”

A manager must be able to tell a story that translates company values into something easy to relate to.



The book Managing by Storying Around by David Armstrong describes how a company use stories:

“Storytelling is a much simpler and more effective way to manage. I don’t have to make thousands of individual decisions. The story gives people guidelines, and then it is up to them.”



Storytelling promotes self-management.



Use rewards as powerful reminders.

If you want to know what an organization values, watch how it invests its resources.

Rewards may be used to reinforce values.



Example: Link pay to key indicators on

company values. Provide special rewards (monetary

and non-monetary) to employees who practice values-in-action.

“If you want something to grow, pour champagne on it.” – Carol Bernick, President of Alberto-Culver, North America.



Manage conflict through values, not through hierarchy.

Example: An hourly worker argued with the manager on how to pack a semi-trailer with paper product. The worker argues, “This is how the customer wants it done…”

A manager uses company values as a “compass” in making decision, instead of insisting on his position or authority.



Routinely evaluate progress on the core values.

Of course, evaluation tools must be based on the core values of the company.



Assist in the evolution of the meaning of values.

A wise manager tries to bridge the gap between what the company says, and what the employees practice.



Example: Johnson & Johnson practices “Live for life,” by encouraging employees to eat right, stop smoking, and exercise in the gym. However, it turned out that the company environment was not smoke-free until the company values reached 15 years.


Thank you!Have a

communication-filled weekend!


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Communicating for Success in Management