As a manager, you have so much to do and so little time to do it. You know communicating with your staff is critically important, but how can you make it easier? Here are 3 techniques you can use:
- Confront the issue. Meet with the employee to discuss what’s going on. Don’t be afraid to ask for his/her perspective. Example: “Joan, this report isn’t what I asked you to do. Can you tell me what happened?”
- Be quiet. Once you’ve asked the question, resist the urge to put words in her mouth. Remain silent until she answers the question completely.
- Give in for now. If you have the luxury of time, let the employee prove you wrong. Example: “If I let you do it your way and it doesn’t work, will you agree to rerun the numbers?”
- Share power. Encourage the employee to suggest solutions to the impasse. Example: “How are we going to keep this kind of misunderstanding from occurring in the future?”
First, find an example of your (or someone else’s) best letters, reports, contracts and proposals. Use them as a guide, then customize as necessary.
One of my clients uses templates for some 40 basic letters. One letter is a response to a request for donations, another is a rejection letter, one is a quarterly scheduling letter distributed to district managers and one is a welcome letter for new clients.
Note: Don’t use templates for sympathy notes, individual thank you messages and congratulatory messages. These kinds of occasions require highly personal – sometimes handwritten – notes.
- Nature metaphors such as “cycle” and “evolution.”
- Music metaphors such as “rehearse,” “harmonize” and “orchestrate.”
- Dance metaphors like “lead and follow,” “synchronize movements” and “choreograph.”
These metaphors are just right for everyday collaboration.
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Kathleen OConnor is the owner of the OConnor Success System which provides professional growth programs for managers and entrepreneurs. To access our free resources, visit our website at http://www.OconnorSuccessSystem.com You can sign up there for your free 4-part mini-course on communication skills and a free subscription to our monthly e-zine, The Edge.