CONCLUSION
Be a Gold Medal Communicator!

This last chapter provides nine more communication tips for busy managers. To be a first-rate manager and communicator, you need to believe communication is the most important skill you can develop and you must practice it every day. Great managers engage their staff, help them have good days, and treat them nicely. Managers who make the effort to stay positive attract people like magnets and get things done. Exceptional managers remove communication barriers, support their employees, and trust their intuition. World-class managers lead change with extraordinary communication skills. They have highly honed influence and persuasion skills. These tips will point you to becoming a gold medal communicator and a top-notch manager.

Tip #1. Continually Practice Good Communication

Communication is the underpinning of everything you do. Your overarching responsibility as a manager is to get quality work delivered on time with and through your direct reports. The greater the demands on you to achieve these results with and through your team, the greater your need for superior communication skills. As a manager, your staff expects you to prevent and diminish friction in the way people talk to each other so the team can concentrate on the work and not be distracted. Through relationship, process, and collaboration you can reduce discomfort about sticky conversations at work. You can expand your competence and confidence to handle the tough stuff. You lessen your stress when you are confident that you have data, not opinion. Each time you clearly set expectations, you increase productivity in the team, because clarity minimizes rework. Clarity also reduces time wasted due to misunderstandings and perks up your ability to form relationships.

Creating an energized, positive work environment during any economy reduces your colleagues’ stress and slashes sick and other lost time. Simple kindness and engendering good days for your team can move them to push on and thrive. One manager from Alaska said of his boss, “I want to work for him. We can have a pleasant conversation about mistakes, but it doesn’t hurt. He gives specific feedback and invites me into the conversation. He asks me questions and lets me decide how to proceed.” Communicating, as a knowledgeable partner, can earn any manager these accolades.

The better a communicator you are, the more valuable you are to any organization in any economy. Communication is a transportable skill to any job, working with any group, anywhere. The more adept you are at building rapport and leading collaborative conversations, the more you advance your opportunities.

Tip #2. Engage Your Staff in Their Roles and Be a “Keeper”

An epidemic of workplace dissatisfaction is infecting the United States. In 2007, “the Gallup Management Journal (GMJ) surveyed U.S. employees to discover if employees would fire their boss—and what effect work-place engagement might have on their willingness to give their boss the boot,” says Eric Nielsen, Gallup’s senior director of Media Relations. Survey respondents fell into one of three types of employees: engaged, not engaged, or actively disengaged. Engaged employees made up only 26 percent of respondents. Those who were not engaged made up 56 percent, and the actively disengaged made up 18 percent of the respondents. On September 13, 2007, GMJ reported in the article “Would You Fire Your Boss?” by Bryant Ott and Emily Kilham that “Nearly one quarter of U.S. employees—and 51% of actively disengaged workers—would sack their managers if given the chance… . Engaged employees, however, are far more charitable to their supervisors.”

Make sure upper management sees that you are a manager supported by your staff—staff that are engaged in their jobs. When your employees are allied to you, it reinforces your stature as a leader. It also impacts how well you can assist employees in aligning their personal professional goals with organizational objectives. Position work assignments in terms of importance and benefit to employee skill development to acquire their committed involvement.

Employees also want to work in an environment that is congenial and cooperative. It is the manager’s job to lead by example and facilitate communication in a way that creates a harmonious atmosphere free of unnecessary stress. This means taking the time to build and maintain friendly relationships that encourage people to do their very best work.

Tip #3. Help Staff Have a Good Day—Every Day

The environment you shape for your team makes the difference in how they feel about their work, the organization, you, and their coworkers. When you lower the stress and create a comfortable workplace, you make it easy for employees to focus on their jobs so they can be highly productive. You can achieve this through communicating, motivating, and inspiring every day.

Bernie Haas, a former meeting coordinator at the San Francisco Center of the American Management Association (AMA), and I recently lunched to celebrate his retirement. In discussing his more than twenty years with AMA, I was stunned when Bernie told me, “I have never had a bad day at AMA. A major factor has been the attitude of the managers and the working atmosphere they created.”

No one had ever said that to me before. The more I thought about it, the more I thought it would really help managers to hear his comment. After all, this is the reason I began writing this book in the first place—to help managers create a work environment where everyone has good days. When I went back to the afternoon part of the seminar I was leading that day, I told the class what Bernie had said. They were taken aback when I told them Bernie said he had never had a bad day at AMA and that he attributed it to the management. Jaws dropped. Eyes popped. People sat back speechless in their chairs. Then we began a discussion on how the participants could use what they were learning in the class to provide that kind of environment for their own staffs.

The next week, when I e-mailed Bernie to see if I could quote him in this book, he wrote: “My days with AMA were all good ones, no question about it. At my retirement lunch, I thanked my AMA manager, Gordon Silvera, for ‘creating an atmosphere in which I could work.’ I think that if more people found something that they really like to do in an atmosphere in which they really like to work, there would be fewer folks trying to retire at forty-five. Finding such a situation is easier said than done. I think it’s a matter of knowing oneself and finding a place where one can use one’s talents and work comfortably. A good thing for managers to remember is not to make mountains out of molehills. When managers don’t make mountains out of molehills, employees have a better day and do better work.”

People need work they like and that makes them feel successful. But the atmosphere the manager creates may be even more significant. The manager makes the environment conducive to productivity through a blend of clear expectations, process, and relationship.

Tip #4. Be Nice

The secret to being viewed as a collaborative professional is a simple one: be nice. Persuasion and kindness are more effective than confrontation. When others feel they are well treated, they are more willing to grease the wheels and get things done. Observe what happens when people feel they are being condescended to or are expected to jump through hoops. They sometimes find ways to take control of the situation by not delivering. It can become an unnecessary power struggle that is so easily prevented when managers are just plain nice.

Why did the Chamber of Commerce of the resort town of Montauk, Long Island, recognize Marilyn Bogdan, owner of the clothing store Summer Stock? Marilyn started this retail business thirty-two years ago, and through tough and good economic times, her business has succeeded. She attributes the success to being nice. And recognition from the Chamber proves that being nice works.

When I asked Marilyn how she motivates her staff, she said, “It works best when they can feel you really care about them. They want to please you and work hard for you. When they see you working hard, they put in extra effort.” Some of Marilyn’s employees have been with her for twenty-five years. They stay because they know Marilyn appreciates them and cares about them.

“We do get involved with their families,” Marilyn says. “If there is an emergency, we are there for them. If they are ill, we make life as easy as possible. And financially we take good care of them. I constantly tell them about the great job they do. I give them little handwritten notes that say, ‘I couldn’t have done (specific situation) without you.’ I consistently let them know how valuable they are.”

Marilyn continues, “I try to be nice. I care and they know it. The retail business is all about people. The customers come in because we are all nice to them. So the employees have to feel cared for so they can treat the customers nicely. It has to start at the top. When they see us act that way to them, the employees act that way to the customers.”

Summer Stock does not pay commissions, because that makes employees compete against each other and the customers can tell. The employees get bonuses at the end of the year, so they feel free to step in and help coworkers. The customers benefit from this cooperation and teamwork.

“If you were to teach someone how to be nice,” I said, “what would they be doing?”

“We always tell them to act as if it’s not a store,” Marilyn said. “We say to act as if it’s your home and people choose to come visit you. Greet them with a big smile. Show you are glad to see them with a little opening conversation. Let the customers know if they need anything, you are available. But don’t follow them around and hound them.”

Sometimes the employees sit and talk with the husbands of the women who shop there. Some people have had bad experiences at other stores. Marilyn feels a responsibility to make visiting her store a good experience so it affects customers’ opinion of all of Montauk in a positive way.

Marilyn always focuses on the positive and demonstrates an attitude of gratitude. “You feel fortunate that you’ve been able to stay in business so long,” she said. “You don’t take things for granted. Being nice always comes back to you.”

“Sometimes managers are afraid if they are nice they will be taken advantage of,” I said.

“I’ve found it just the opposite,” Marilyn said. “The employees don’t want to disappoint you. Being nice also works best when dealing with suppliers. If you need something quickly, and you’ve been nice to them over the years, they take care of you. It works in your favor.”

It also is effective to be nice to customers. “Customers have a choice of what stores to go to,” Marilyn said. “We look at baby pictures and wedding pictures. We remember their names and give little gifts. Some people come in just to talk. So we hire people who can easily work like that and have feeling for people. That’s why we’ve stayed in business thirty-two years. Being nice works.”

Tip #5. Stay Positive

Charismatic leaders consistently emphasize the good and demonstrate a constructive disposition toward the future. Earning a reputation for being positive helps attract people to you, your goals, and your organization. Staying positive under pressure displays your consummate leadership agility.

William (Bill) C. Torchiana, is president of Torchiana, Mastrov & Sapiro (TMS) and a founding member of Career Partners International, the global leader in talent management consulting services. Bill exemplifies charismatic, positive leadership. He draws people in by his inclusive, uplifting, and optimistic manner. TMS is the San Francisco Bay Area’s leading independent career management and leadership development consulting firm. The service it offers requires that every team member act and speak positively, because the mission is to share hope and energy with people who need that in their career transition or leadership growth.

Bill says, “Being positive is an option to choose even if it takes some effort on your part to do that. All successful leaders that I know are positive by nature or by choice. One of the best ways that managers energize an organization is to craft an authentic and positive vision of the future, clearly convey it, and create excitement about it. They tell the story to attract followers who will join them and pursue the aspirations and the cause. I don’t think there is any other good alternative to that approach. It is a strong belief that I hold.”

He continues, “I’ve met a few leaders in my lifetime who are at all times positive and nice about everything they say about people and things. That shows up to me as world class. I think most of us can be uncomplimentary at some time or slip up once in a while. But the exceptional people never deviate from being positive.

“Some people pride themselves on being honest, and in doing so, might not be so nice. Some people have trouble being too blunt. Follow the Golden Rule—treat others as you’d like to be treated.”

Bill also notes, “In the work I’ve done I have seen some naysayers, doomsayers, and energy suckers. Some people unintentionally try to break us down and would not be good people to have in the lifeboat in that they might cry, ‘We’ve got a leak. Oh, no. We’ve got another leak.’ ”

People act like naysayers, according to Bill, because there are people who are discouraged or in pain, even leaders in pain. And in tough economic times, some people become pessimistic. “The question is how to help them develop a more optimistic view; optimism and the entrepreneurial spirit have worked well in the past and will prevail in the future,” Bill adds.

“What I do is not magical,” Bill says. “It’s a belief system I choose to live by. There are several findings that suggest many of us will live to be 100 years old. So what do I choose for the years between now and then? I expect those years to be positive and hopefully healthy. They will not be lived day-by-day, but rather with a positive view of the things to come.”

What is Bill’s advice for managers who have people on their team who are not being positive? “When managers are evaluating a skill set necessary to hold the business together, you have to pick people who are positive about the future,” Bill says. “ It gets us through the difficulties of the present. I will not let anyone pull us down on our team, because at our work we live in hope. We need lifeboat people. A positive view of the future is essential for our work. TMS provides our view of the future to our clients. And being positive is a vital quality of a winning leader,” Bill concludes.

Tip #6. Remove Communication Barriers and Support Employees

Irene Goldberg, the library director of the Monroe Township Public Library in New Jersey, faces unique challenges in public service. Irene says, “In a busy public library, service is our product; books and materials are borrowed, not bought. For the most part, money does not change hands significantly. So, why would working at a public service desk in a library bring with it conflict and stress for the employee? In many cases, the fact that a desk—be it a cashier desk in a commercial establishment, or a service desk in a public library—separates the two parties creates an expectation in the mind of the customer that the service person may not have her best interests at heart. Often I’ve heard contentious words spoken as the patron steps up to the desk that the employee behind the desk has done nothing to provoke. Does a piece of furniture have such power?”

Irene continues, “There is a movement in library service to get staff out from behind the desks as much as possible. The intent is to remove barriers to service, but the side benefit is that it seems to remove some of that stress. The person on the inside of the desk no longer appears to be the ‘enemy’ when met beyond the desk.”

As in any job, collaboration and collegiality offer entrée to communication opportunities. As organizations have flattened and become less hierarchical, so coworkers and customers have emerged as side-by-side colleagues. The prevailing Internet use has also equalized people and reduced a sense of looking to authorities for the answers. In the Monroe Township Public Library, removing desk barriers is one way to achieve this type of communication and ease employee stress.

“We provide walk-around opportunities for staff willing to do so,” says Irene. “Some cannot leave the protection of the anchor (desk). Those who do walk around find it gives them an opportunity to smile and exchange pleasantries as they get a book down off a high shelf, recommend a great read, or just explain policies or procedures. They walk a figure-eight path, being sure to be welcoming and accessible.”

As welcoming as staff are, they still have to deal with some cranky customers. This demands that managers be alert to how their staff are handling these situations and how the employees are impacted. It presents challenges for how managers can be supportive and help employees navigate their way through this aspect of their jobs.

At the library, Irene energizes the managers and staff with periodic staff gatherings: “We discuss certain tenets of our service model, as a gentle reminder. In Monroe there are seven planned retirement communities. For many people living alone, we are the first human beings they speak to that day. And for some, complaining is a communication style, unpleasant as it is to the listener. In some cases, retired people, used to being the boss in their previous work life, are a little too emphatic when they speak. Some people use a condescending tone of voice or sound like they are ordering the staff to do something instead of asking. Regular staff meetings allow the staff members to talk about these concerns and problem solve among themselves with positive ways they’ve defused a situation.”

Such meetings motivate employees and grow their skills. Meetings also reinforce expectations that serving the public means being adept at conversing with all types of communicators—even if they complain.

No one expects employees to be mistreated by the public, and co-workers and managers team up to lend a hand to each other. Irene says, “Staff members always know that their supervisor, up to the library director level, will always intervene if needed (or wanted) and always watch their backs. Staff watch out for each other, and a beleaguered first person can look to his or her side and communicate a silent message that they need to cycle away from the situation. No one wants a situation to spiral out of control.”

A vital way to show your direct reports how important they are— both to you and to the organization—is to go the extra mile in supporting them. Actions speak louder than words.

Tip #7. Use Your Intuition

One way a confident communicator supports staff is to ensure that you energize your staff with enthusiasm and positive energy. Since managers are role models for how to communicate, you teach your team how to integrate relationships, process, and collaboration by how you do it yourself. Use the concepts in this book and use your intuition. Trust your insight.

Sharon Lawrence of Walnut Creek, California, is a chemist by training who has worked in both research and start-up organizations. She has also taught yoga and meditation for ten years and uses healing touch and sound therapy with her clients and students to help them relax and connect with their intuition. Sharon says, “True relationship comes from intuition—from our inner knowing. Intuition drives the decision of when to stay with the process and when to let it go in order to connect and create a true relationship. When we trust our intuition and are authentic in how we communicate with people, relationships not only grow, but relaxed positive energy flows.”

Using intuition makes it more comfortable to be natural at work. Many people feel compelled to play a role at work instead of just being themselves. Some managers think everything has to be “by the book” and authoritative. But when people are at ease, quality work gets done because people can focus on the task without the underlying tension that swells when good relationships are not in place.

Tip #8. Lead Change with Extraordinary Communication

Some management tasks remain constant. A manager will always need to plan, organize, monitor progress, control resources, and lead. Setting team goals according to corporate goals, implementing the corporate core values, resolving conflict, providing a motivational atmosphere, helping employees grow and develop, determining and monitoring budget and schedules, operating from ethical values, and getting the job done are basic requirements. Organizations will always need goal-oriented managers who are clear on the mission. But the manager with extraordinary communication skills who can lead people through the uncertainties of change boosts his value to the organization.

With all the changes occurring in workplaces today, including economic changes, managers must stand out as proponents of change. Communication is the most important skill a manager can develop to introduce and implement change initiatives. Communication suggests a commitment to change, lifelong learning, and flexibility. These attributes are needed to negotiate the major changes that managers must deal with, including endless technology improvements, increasing diversity and language differences in the workforce, employees who are more empowered and have higher expectations than in the past, and volatility in the global market affecting the business models.

There are constant explosions in technology and processes. These alterations require continual learning and training for the manager and staff. A manager must embrace and implement the new technology and perhaps research new applications. Recruiting new talent may require updating hiring processes and team adaptation to different skills of teammates. Leaders must be amenable to fast-changing budgetary issues for leasing and purchasing equipment and software.

Greater workforce diversity demands awareness and education, leading the charge in breaking down any barriers, and inclusion of all employees. Diversity necessitates an open-minded frame of reference and modeling that framework for employees. Communication may require greater effort and time. A manager may need to work harder at clarifying expectations and meeting them.

With the need to empower employees today, there is a shift in accountability directly to the employee. This demands greater clarity when the manager sets the bar and communicates the vision. A manager must encourage trust and walk the talk. More accountability also rests with the manager to manage risk—business and personnel—and protect the company and the manager from lawsuits.

Employee expectations exact management behaviors such as identifying and meeting the needs of followers. Managers must look for opportunities to chunk down the work in acceptable bites and look for occasions to reward and praise. Direct reports expect the manager to initiate open and frequent communications. They anticipate support and encouragement in both their work and their professional development.

Globalization has modified business models and people management. In any seminar I give, usually several managers attending have the responsibility to manage folks at remote locations, ranging from people working at home to people on the other side of the globe in completely different time zones. This calls for enormous flexibility and communication skills. Often voice-to-voice communication is difficult to achieve, much less interpersonal contact. Unprecedented knowledge of cultures and how people do business is needed. Managing virtually compels the manager to exert extraordinary efforts to clarify expectations and follow up on progress in a collegial, collaborative way.

There have always been regulatory changes, and a manager can expect them to differ from year to year based on new federal and state laws. Managers need to be knowledgeable of current regulations and any impact on their goals and their teams.

Other changes, such as those to ergonomics, safety and security, ethics, and a loss of productivity due to learning curves, all require that managers have the ability to describe expectations and action items clearly, listen, deal with resistance, keep morale high, and collaborate. Communication methods such as e-mail, handheld devices, and cell phones require continual adaptation. Many feel that managers are now held to higher standards. They must justify their existence with tighter financial and other metrics than ever before. Many managers must manage risk in the business.

Tip #9. Influence and Persuade

Today there is a much greater emphasis on a manager’s ability to persuade and influence others at all levels of the organization, including direct reports. Being directive is important at certain times and is addressed in Chapter 9 on coaching. However, being directive is no longer the only skill a manager must have to be successful. Nor is it the most advanced or complex. Communicating with people now requires influence and persuasion skills.

The higher level the manager, the greater the wings of influence need to spread. To persuade, a manager hones his skills in educating others on the benefits and logic of a project or an approach. To be convinced, people are interested in learning the reasoning and value of what the persuader has to say before they make up their own minds. This puts the onus of being very clear about the whys and wherefores directly on the shoulders of the manager. It also requires relationship building and knowing how to partner with people. This in-depth knowledge and ability to communicate is a far cry from telling employees to “just get it done.”

Partnering with direct reports requires a high degree of persuasion skills to include the other person, instead of just ordering him about. By being included, the employee’s commitment to his manager, the organization, and the work itself expands. This leads to ownership, which induces employees to produce optimal results.

Influence and persuasion skills are significant communication skills that proficient managers use to collaborate in delegating, monitoring progress, giving feedback, and coaching.

Summary

I know that you will want to refer to this book again and again as you master one of the communication tips and want to learn another. When you prepare to hold a feedback, coaching, or delegating conversation you can freshen up your approach with ideas from this book. When you face new people problems or you want to strategize to prevent them, return to a chapter. When you manage a new group or get promoted and face different communication challenges, revisit the pages and the processes. Have fun in your communication journey. As a continual communication learner, you will open many professional and personal doors of opportunity.

This book provides all the tips and techniques you need to ramp up your interpersonal communication to “gold medal status.” Happy managing, and cheerful communicating!