For all the productivity improvements technology has brought us, there is a dark side and it is impacting employee engagement and management effectiveness. I’m talking about the tendency to send emails instead of going and talking to people. In extreme cases it might even be to the person in the office or cubical next door. […]
Category: Communication
Answer the ‘Why?’
I’m sure I used to drive my mom and dad a little crazy as a child because I used to ask “Why?” so often. It turns out that kids aren’t the only ones who want to know why. Employees are more likely to be engaged when they are informed and understand the reason you ask […]
Goldilocks leadership – not too tough, not too easy – just right
Just like in the children’s story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the best managers know how to strike a balance between being too tough or too easy on employees. The ‘too tough’ manager is mistakenly seen as an effective leader. Being ruthless might appear strong at first but when overplayed employees will become disengaged […]
Leaders need to clarify what employees are trying to say
Even when the leader is trained to be a more effective communicator, it is quite possible that the leader’s frustration with employees might derail any improvement in communication skills. Without training everyone on how to be a better communicator, the leader can take some steps to help ensure that employees get their point across. We’ll […]
Poor listener? Listen up
As you might imagine, as a paid expert on communication and leadership, I get some well earned ribbing at home from my wife Robin because of my poor listening skills as a husband and father. Once I made the comment that she just didn’t pay me as well as my client’s did for me to […]