Correct Communication for Managers

Correct communication is the basis for uncomplicated cooperation and a successful company. That is the main reason why managers must learn to communicate correctly sooner or later. Because only when the receiver understands what the sender wants from him, a project can be satisfactorily and profitably developed and completed.

More than 90 % say their bosses lack comunication skills

Source: a survey published by Inc.

Why communication is the foundation of a leader

Major organizational problems often originate in faulty or incomplete communication between the respective managers. Because only when department A knows what department B is doing and vice versa, the company is pulling together. This requires the appropriate communication, which should be clear, understandable and simple.

Clear communication is necessary to avoid misunderstandings. One myth is that long, convoluted sentences demonstrate a certain expertise. The same goes for the use of foreign words. But managers enjoy much more trust from their employees if they express themselves clearly, simply and concisely. Because only those who are fully understood can also be convincing.

So avoid complicated sentence structures, anglicisms, abstract terms. Instead, use short, concise sentences and common terms. If a topic is particularly complex, it can be difficult at first to explain it in a way that the general public can understand. But it’s worth the effort, as you’ll see from the reaction of your employees. Those who can give good speeches that stimulate and enjoy greater confidence and thus build up a role model function.

Scientific digression

How do I talk to my employees as a manager?

As already mentioned, a manager should communicate clearly and understandably. This consists of a language that all those present can understand equally. However, it is by no means a matter of using kindergarten language and giving employees the feeling that they are not quite up to scratch. Rather, it is about the so-called sender-receiver model, also known as the Shannon-Weaver model. Model developers Claude E. Shannon and Warren Weaver brought up this communication model in the 1940s.

Originally, it describes a binary mathematical model that aims to enable the exchange of information between two systems. However, this model has also become established in the psychology of communication, explaining how communication between two or more parties should take place so that the information does not arrive at the receiver either incorrect or full of gaps.

How does the sender-receiver model work?

Person A, the sender, wants to convey a piece of information to person B, the receiver. To do this, person A converts his thoughts into speech, facial expressions, gestures or writing. Person B receives the message as a signal. In order for this signal to be correctly decoded, i.e. understood, by person B, person A and person B must have the same code – a common language, for example. By responding to it, the receiver becomes the sender himself.

To be able to decode the language of his counterpart properly, both parties to the conversation must have things in common, such as a common language. But it is not enough to speak the same language, such as German or English; you also need the same vocabulary and the corresponding knowledge. If the manager uses jargon that person B does not know, it is as if the two parties speak different languages and the communication process is disrupted.

No matter how accurately the sender has articulated the message, if the shared knowledge is missing, the receiver cannot fully understand the message.

This is why even the best-qualified executives are not always understood by their employees, and why the company ultimately loses direction and overall focus. Of course, you always have to look at the disruption of the communication process individually in order to find the appropriate solutions. Do you know these problems? Within the framework of executive coaching, we can work on them together.

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©’21 – ’24  Re-Thought | IT- & Management-Consulting by Thomas Gericke

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