Топик: The profile of an effective manager

2.6. Communication skills

With Rees (1991, p. 159), we can say that this characteristic is probably the most important of all the characteristics an effective manager needs to possess. Everything a manager does involves communication, his verbal and nonverbal behaviour. Communication between managers and employees is important in the sense that it provides the information necessary to get work done effectively and efficient in organizations. Effective communication is the critical factor that moves a team toward a resolution or consensus (“How to be an effective manager”, 2000, p. 14).

Robbins & Coulter provide us with the following communication model (see attachment 1). As we can notice by looking at this model, there are seven factors involved in communication: (1) the communication source, (2) encoding, (3) the message, (4) the channel, (5) decoding, (6) the receiver and (7) feedback. The definition of communication is then “the transfer and understanding of meaning ” (Robbins & Coulter, 2002, p. 282). This means that (1) the message has to reach the receiver ( for example a speaker who isn’t heard does not communicate) and (2), more important, the message has also to be understood in the way it was meant by the sender. Interesting to note is that communication can be affected by noise , by which we mean any disturbance that interferes with the transmission, receipt or feedback of a message, for example a phone ringing in the background.

Robbins and Coulter (2002, pp. 288-291) distinguish 7 different barriers to effective communication. These are (Robbins & Coulter, 2002, pp. 288-291):

1. Filtering : this is the deliberate manipulation of information to make it appear more favorable to the receiver. For example when a manager tells his boss what his boss wants to hear.

2. Selective perception : when people selectively interpret what they see or hear on the basis of their interests, background, experience and attitudes. For example an employment interviewer who expects a female job applicant to put her family ahead of her career is likely to see that in female applicants, regardless of the fact that it is true or not.

3. Emotions : how a receiver feels when a message is received influences how he or she interprets it.

4. Information overload : when the information we have to work with exceeds our processing capacity. For example tons of e-mails. You are bound to select and this way information gets lost.

5. Defensiveness : when individuals interpret another’s message as threatening, they often respond in ways that hinder effective communication.

6. Language : words mean different things to different people. Age, education and cultural background are three of the more obvious variables that influence the language a person uses and the definitions he or she gives to words. The use of jargon , a specialized terminology or technical language that members of a group use to communicate among themselves, can be a barrier to effective communication.

7. National culture : cultural differences and consequently different values (cfr. the problems of intercultural communication).[39]

To these we can also add gender differences[40] , status differences (for example boss vs. subordinate) and interference of nonverbal communication factors (for example smell as a personal physical characteristic).

Now what can a manager do to overcome these and as such be effective in his communication? If we know that an average manager spends 80% of his or her time communicating in one form or another (10% writing, 15% reading, 25% listening and 30% speaking), communication is affecting a company in every possible way (“How to be an effective manager”, 2000, p. 14). Therefore effective communication is of extreme importance.

Robbins (2001, pp. 302-304) mentions 8 rules by which the barriers can be bridged:

1. Use feedback : question the receiver to know if he understood the message in the way it was intended.

2. Simplify language : choose words and structure your messages in ways that will make those messages clear and understandable to the receiver.

3. Listen actively : this means an active search for meaning, in opposite to passively hearing

4. Contrain emotions : when emotionally upset, refrain from communication until u have regained composure.

5. Watch nonverbal cues : to ensure that the receiver conveys the desired message.

6. Empathize with others : put yourself in the shoes of your listeners. This way you’re more likely to see things from their perspective. Then you can choose the proper channel and the right words to transfer your message (cfr. infra).

7. Use multiple channels : this increases clarity because (1) it stimulates different senses and (2) it takes into account that people have different abilities to absorb communication.

8. Match your words and actions: actions speak louder than words. When nonverbal messages contradict official messages as conveyed in formal communications, people become confused and the official message loses its focus.

9. Tailor the message to the audience: different people in the organization have different information needs. Individuals in organizations vary in the type of information they need to know, their preferred channel for receiving the information, and their understanding of language, so you should take this into account and tailor your message to your audience.

10. Remember the value of face-to-face communication when dealing with change: as we shall see immediately, some channels are more rich than others. Especially in times of uncertainty, it is appropriate to use a rich channel to convey ambiguous and nonroutine messages.

11. Channels : understand that some channels have different effects on different audiences.

To conclude, I want to give some additional information to these last two. As a manager in the 21st century, you can make use of a wide variety of communication methods thanks to the rapid progression in information technology. These include: face-to-face, telephone, group meetings, formal presentations, memos, traditional mail, employee publications, bulletin boards, audio and videotapes, hot lines, electronic mail, computer conferencing, voice-mail, teleconferences, and videoconferences. As a manager, it is of crucial importance that you select the appropriate method/channel to communicate a specific message. Recent research has found that channels differ in their capacity to convey information. Some are rich in that they have the ability to (1) handle multiple cues simultaneously, (2) facilitate rapid feedback, and (3) be very personal. Attachment 2 shows us the hierarchy of channel richness. The rule to choose one channel above another depends then on the fact of whether the message is routine or nonroutine. For example firing a person by sending him/her an e-mail isn’t quite effective. Instead, sending an e-mail to let him know that he/she’s invited for a personnel party this Saturday do is so.

As a conclusion we can say that effective communication is of extreme importance if you want to be an effective manager. However, this doesn’t mean that good communication skills alone make succesfull managers. We do can say that íf the suggestions made here to communicate effective are applied in a correct manner, then a lot of problems for a manager can be avoided and surely the company as a whole will benefit from this.

2.7. Decveloping Trust inside the organization