A couple of months ago I read an article that quoted LinkedIn’s CEO. He was asked what he considered the most critical competency missing at work today, he said good communication.
Today’s work environment requires use of cell phones, tablets, PC, so as to guarantee the 24/7 connection between the individual and work. There is an expectation of “immediate” response to emails text’s and voice messages. In addition this mind set overlooks culture and human nuances. There is an assumption the “we are ALL in this together” so cultural norms are overlooked by the power of connection and technology.
The reality is that this assumption is dead wrong. Actually what we have are employees reacting 24/7 to what I call “technological chatter” and the overall result seems to be a lot of conflict, lack of engagement, mental fatigue, lack of productivity and innovation. LinkedIn’s CEO is right!
So let’s take a look at what you can do to stop this trend. At present I’m going through a process of coaching a woman from Prague who leads a multicultural team. Her experience has been challenging but she has managed to create a shift from “connections to communication” amongst her team. She has seen examples of business success and positive outcomes.
My first recommendation was to look at information related to cultural trends and how they impact work. For example how is power defined in Prague vs France or US? Communication requires meeting of the mind and buy in and unless the individual feels understood they will not respond favorably to you. I always recommend using Hofstede’s and Fons Trompenaar ́s work, experts in helping identify values and cultural differences so that one can develop a degree of sensitivity and context when interacting with people from other cultures.
Second, and perhaps this is the most critical consideration, stop using emails in substitution of conversations. Emails were created to exchange information not to “create” dialogue. Dialogue can ONLY happen amongst two people face to face. The moment my coachee started to use the phone, Skype and leveraged her travel, to really connect one on one with the team, things started to change.
Third, research shows that “time outs” from the phone and computer are essential for the brain, it needs a chance to rebut. It is a fact that the brain starts to lose efficiency after 8 hours of work. My coachee has asked her team members to take short brakes during work and she is finding that efficiency is higher as well as a reduction of stress and conflict. Time outs allow for “cooling off periods”.
Fourth and for me the most important, let’s reconnect with the art of dialogue, of healthy communications. Nothing substitutes body language, the nuisance of the voice, laughter. Let’s put technology in our use and let’s reclaim written thankyou notes, gatherings with coworkers to discuss and clarify issues, improvised lunch and even maybe a summer event!
Elisabet Rodriguez Dennehy
President, Rodriguez and Associates LLC