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[B183]Barrier To Effective Communication

by May Chew, May

Have you experienced the feeling- you are doing more, running faster, accomplishing much, but you feel there is something missing? You may be writing the best goals of the year, and getting the top prize for accomplishing all the goals you set out to do. You may be accomplishing all that you set out to achieve, but at the end you are still unhappy.

If you don't really know what you want in life, you would have been climbing up the wrong tree. SMART goals aren't really that smart if you do not have the big picture in mind. For example, in your job, you have finished an important project that you set out to do. You have written 40 pages of a proposal, researched and finished in one month. It was SMART goal accomplished. It was: Specific- yes, you have finished the assignment and completed it; Measurable: yes, forty pages is measurable; Achievable- yes, you have achieved it; Realistic- yes it is definitely doable; and Time based- one month.

But you may have always had the inkling that your current job was not what you really wanted. You may have been itching to get out of this job for some time. Inside you, what you really wanted was perhaps something mroe creative. This job is not your first love. It's your circumstances that landed you in this course.

Lack of clarity is the most common goal setting mistake that people make. They're already entrenched in a situation. They have to accomplish tasks. So they set goals. They have not taken one step backward and looked at things from a bigger perspective. Examine yourself. Is this the job or task you really love? Can you see yourself doing the same thing 5 years from now? Ten years from now? If you really didn't have to work for the money, can you see yourself doing the same thing, working in the same job?

In order that goals are truly motivating and valuable, they must be grounded in your deepest values. They must be balanced and complimentary. They must be consistent and complementary- not opposing one another, and physically possible.

Clarity of purpose, vision combined with balance is important. Know yourself. What you would like to do. Think back: What activities have given you the greatest feeling of achievement? In what areas of life have you achieved the most personal fulfillment? The secret is to do more of what you enjoy, from that comes happiness, enthusiasm, motivation, and energy. What do you stand for? What would you defend with your life, if necessary? If you had only 6 months to live, what would do with your time?

If your life was perfect in every respect and you were too, what would it look like, feel like, sound like, belike? Listen to your inner self. Spend a few minutes a day relaxing with closed eyes, and breathing deeply and slowly. Dream.

What is important to you? What do you value most in yourself, your relationship, your job, your friends, your hobby? Just pen down anything that comes to mind. Let loose and express yourself . Write it down. Look at everything you have written and list your top 10 values. You should have your own list. The values could be : honesty, doing one's best, being loving, valuing family life, being enterprising, independence, self control, spirituality, fairness, security, etcetera. Rank them and say what each of these values mean to you. You have just begun your journey of true goal setting- begin with clarity and vision.

Did you know that exceptional managers are the main reason good employees stay where they are, and bad managers are the main reason good employees leave? Author Marcus Buckingham tells us people don't quit their jobs ? they quit bad managers. They quit managers who don't recognize their contributions. They quit managers who ignore slacker coworkers. They quit managers who don't provide clear direction. In other words, they quit managers who don't manage and lead assertively.

That's why your words are so important. As a manager your words matter more to your employees than anyone else's. However, if you're like most leaders (and like me), you've delayed hot button conversations because you didn't know what to say or you didn't want to rock the boat. And (like me) you've probably also initiated hot button conversations with reckless abandon and later regretted your words.

Here are some management skill training tips to help you be the assertive manager your employees want to produce results for.

1. Establish your role from the beginning
Don't: be afraid to be the boss. When you take charge, don't assume everyone will automatically fall into their roles.
Why not: In the beginning, employees aren't sure about your authority, and neither are you. It's easier to set the tone up front than to change the tone afterward.
Do: conduct a new supervisor interview and put your best foot forward. Take the initiative to set boundaries and define roles from the outset.
PowerPhrases: What to Say: ?I need your help, support and feedback on my new role as your manager.? ?Now that I'm your manager, our roles will change. Do you have concerns about that??
Poison Phrases: What not to say: We're all friends here. It will work out fine.

2. Hold people accountable for expected results
Don't: indulge slackers.
Why not: It's unfair to the good performers who are doing their jobs ? and often picking up the slack. It encourages slacking from everyone.
Do: clarify expectations and document and address problems as they arise.
PowerPhrases: What to Say: ?Your job requires that you? Instead you are? Here's why I need you to meet expectations.?
Poison Phrases: What not to say: Oh well, it'll get done. It always does.

3. Create a system to consistently acknowledge good employee performance
Don't: leave acknowledgement to chance or dismiss good work as an expected part of the job.
Why not: Behavior that gets rewarded gets repeated. Behavior that is ignored drops off. If you don't have a system to acknowledge employees, it probably won't happen and you'll lose a performance enhancement opportunity.
Do: set reminders or other systems to ensure you let employees know exactly what they do that you appreciate and how it affects you in a positive way.
PowerPhrases: What to Say: ?I love your attention to detail in how you? That's important because?? ??was a powerful initiative because??
Poison Phrases: What not to say:that's what they get paid for.

4. Be clear in delegation and providing directions
Don't: assume understanding.
Why not: There are too many variables in every project to assume anything.
Do: specify deadlines, budget, specs, authority and follow-up.
PowerPhrases: What to Say: ?I need ?by (when) to the following specs. Make your own decisions about X but please forward questions to me about Y. ?
Poison Phrases: What not to say: I don't know what I want, but I'll know it when I see it.

.5. Tie each employee responsibility into the bigger picture of company mission, vision and department goals
Don't: treat individual tasks as mundane.
Why not: mundane tasks don't motivate. Activities that are a part of a bigger mission do.
Do: remind employees continually about why you're there and how their achievements help move the mission forward.
PowerPhrases: What to Say: ?This list you completed is a good step forward toward our mission of??
Poison Phrases: o you made a list. That's what we pay you for.

6. Apply prepared assertive management phrases and leadership phrases for every step of the management process including:

The new supervisor interview

Building strong managers and leaders

How to coach employees

Meeting facilitation

Announcing change

Motivation

Providing positive feedback

Providing negative feedback

Performance review phrases

Termination

This article offers dos, don'ts, PowerPhrases and Poison Phrases for five management conversations. In the course of your management career you'll need to initiate conversations for hundreds of employee conversations. Let the experience of others guide you.

The management process is a communication process. It's not enough to be right. It's not enough to know what you're doing. It's essential that to have to words to successfully manage your employees and to be the assertive manager your employees want you to be.

Article Source : self improvement business

About Author

Both May Chew & Meryl Runion are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

May Chew has sinced written about articles on various topics from self improvement and motivation, Marketing and Communications and Dating and Romance. May is passionate about helping others achieve the life of their dreams. Live, love, be, do and have. Get your inspirational resources at