Managing Interactions, Maximizing Performance
Two Minute Video Management Tip — Managing Communication and Interactions
Communication issues surround us. While eating a casual dinner at a restaurant a few weeks ago, I overheard a little girl in the next booth ordering a grilled cheese sandwich off the kid’s menu. It took me back to a communication challenge I encountered when I was about the same age as that little girl. Sitting at a drug store diner with my Aunt Bessie and Grandma in Rock Island, Illinois, we perused the usual cafe choices. I sat up tall in my fresh cotton dress, black patent leather shoes and lace-edged white socks and ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. Communication turned out to be a problem.
I had asked for a “cheese sandwich” thinking everyone knew the only cheese sandwich on earth was a crispy grilled cheese. Ten minutes later I found out that wasn’t true. I was served a cold cheese sandwich on cold white bread. My much anticipated buttered and perfectly golden, toasted bread with melted cheese center was nowhere to be found. I was perplexed and frustrated. What had I done wrong to deserve this injustice? I had said please and thank you too! My aunt softly explained I had not correctly communicated what I wanted. 
As a manager communicating to your team, how often have you been frustrated and perplexed that your employees didn’t respond to your requests with the behavior or deliverables you were expecting? What’s more frustrating is the time and effort involved is much more than what’s required to whip up a grilled cheese sandwich! One of my management programs that I deliver to professionals covers “Secrets for Finding Your Winning Management Style.” One of these secrets is interacting the right way with your team. Managers who interact the right way with their team must do three essential things: Communicate, Enable and Support. It is these three actions that we’ll cover over the next few weeks in this blog series.
Managing productive interactions with your team starts with communicating the right way with your group. During the many seminars I’ve taught on management methods found in my book “Master Your Middle Management Universe;” we discuss management issues professional participants are facing. Every group includes communication challenges on their list of issues. STOP — before you say — “I know this stuff already.” Think about it … if you know it are you actually practicing it?? Most admit they’re not — at least not on a consistent basis. With that in mind, let’s keep going. Look at this info as either good enlightenment or a good reminder. For a manager to be effective, what constitutes communicating the right way with your team? Communication must be open, accurate, honest and provided on a regular basis. These are communication “must haves” for every manager. This means your team wants to be given information and instructions that help them understand what’s needed, allows them to ask questions and indicates what great performance looks like. Managers who communicate with a lot of bull, rhetoric and cryptic requests are probably getting mixed results from their team. Likewise, managers who are overly detailed may be generating resentment for being micro managers.
What’s the happy medium? Ask your team! If once a week works well, go with it. If once every two weeks is better, consider that option. During high stress times, daily communication may be needed. In all cases, open, accurate and honest communication from management must be genuine and sincere – no bull. It must include updates and detail to make employees feel motivated, appreciated and informed. As a manager, if you expect your team to provide you with consistent input on a request, then take the time to figure out what you want and the format you want it in. Do this before you throw it in their laps and make them do it over four times because, you, the manager, didn’t bother to define what was needed up front! In short, don’t baby your team but do be a manager who communicates with accountability and respect for your team’s time and effort.
Management communication must also be provided regularly in a variety of formats. Face to face, email, memos, phone conversations and staff meetings — including both one way and two way dialogue. It’s amazing to me how many managers think “management” means one-way communication only when a manager feels like giving it. Wrong! Two way dialogue is essential! Communicate – often and in a variety ways – as part of interacting the right way with your team.
That covers the first portion of the three elements required for managers to interact the right way with your team. We’ll dive into the second element in my next blog installment. What are your communication techniques for managing your group? As a manager, what was your most recent “grilled cheese” communication challenge? Let me know! I’ll look forward to talking with you again in a couple of weeks.
