Communication is one of the most important pillars within an organization. Especially as a manager, you must have the ability to communicate effectively and efficiently to your team. If you do not do this or do so carelessly, miscommunication will quickly arise. Before you know it, this miscommunication escalates into a conflict, a grim working atmosphere or even loss of turnover. The most annoying thing is that you often don't even notice miscommunication with and within your team. Of course, you can't check every email between team members, but communication errors do affect your business results. Business results for which you are ultimately held responsible. To prevent you from being called to account by the management this year, we have listed 5 causes of miscommunication.
Causes and 1. Non-verbal communication
You often don't even realize that miscommunication is happening. Wrong assumptions are easily made, especially regarding non-verbal communication . Consider, for example, innocently checking your email on your smartphone during a normal conversation with your colleague. As a manager, you can of course do two things at once, but to your colleague, you might come across as very uninterested.
Do you work within an international team? Then non-verbal miscommunication can sometimes arise from ignorance. For example, a well-intentioned hand on someone's shoulder is much less common in countries such as Japan, Scandinavia and Great Britain. Avoid these awkwardnesses and immerse yourself in the non-verbal communication of another culture. Also take some time to analyze your own non-verbal communication. Pay attention to the use of your body language, eye contact and the correct use of your voice.
2. Misinterpretations
This is a common form of miscommunication in the workplace. It is very easy to assume that a colleague knows something or thinks the same way about a particular issue. This can go spectacularly wrong! The best way to prevent this type of miscommunication is simply not to make assumptions. Be clear in your communication . Better an extra confirmation than a crucial mistake for which you are later held responsible.
3. Responsibilities
An essential factor in the functioning of your team is that everyone knows what their responsibilities are and acts accordingly. Without this awareness, responsibilities are easily shifted to other colleagues, leaving them to point the finger later. Therefore, make sure that responsibilities are documented and emphasize that someone's performance is not only important, but can even be crucial for the functioning of the team.
4. Typos
Of course, not everyone has had a typing course, but a typo in an email can sometimes be very annoying. Consider, for example, an incorrect time or date indication, an incorrectly pasted link or a misspelling of someone's name. Not only can such an error appear unprofessional, you also create extra work for yourself to make up for your mistakes. Therefore, before sending your email, take 10 seconds to quickly review it.
5. Company vision
As a manager, you are more likely to be involved in strategic choices, results and the mission & vision of your company. This applies a lot less to employees. Of course, not everything can be shared with the entire company, but this does not necessarily mean that employees are not included in the company's (future) plans. Communicate what role they will play in the company's multi-year plan and you will notice that employees feel valued, reducing the gap between management and employees.
Do you want to know more about how miscommunication can arise? Then watch this video from TEDEd.
