Communicating Effectively
As I contemplated writing this blog about the effectiveness of communication and interpretation of the message, I experienced an interaction that emphasized the concept. I work for an organization that uses Skype for Business as the primary communication tool, and the secondary is email. We use WebEx personal room for verbal exchanges or face-to-face engagements. Rarely using an actual phone call, but will make a call as a last resort. The exchange was with a manager onboarding new hires. She emailed the day before what she believed was clear communication outlining the outstanding actions for each new hire. I read the email, but nothing raised any concerns at the time.
Once the class began, I noticed one of the manager’s new hires was not in the WebEx. I skyped the manager to provide the update. The response was very blunt “read the email I already sent to you.” She was correct; the email did say that the employee was delayed by one day. However, I interpreted a rude and impatient tone; I immediately decided that working with her would be challenging. The new hire was asked to complete the “I9 documents” for employment eligibility. Of course, we could not find the details that described the I9 documents that must be completed. So, I skyped the manager to ask, “what are the I9 documents required?”. The response was, “I emailed it already, check the inbox.” Frustration instantly reached 100%, and I was convinced that the manager was rude, unhelpful, and a difficult person to work for and with. After spending 45 minutes looking for the documents, form, or any alternative way to complete the action, the new hire and I were unsuccessful. I had to reach out to the manager again. Of course, by this time, my mind was made up about the manager’s tone, what she thought of me, and how this would be a terrible escalation of events. Diplomacy when engaging with a stakeholder is essential to establishing business relationships and building rapport (Laureate, n.d.). Instead of skyping another question, I asked the manager to join WebEx to speak with me and the new hire to help us with completing the request. She accepted the invitation. I was anticipating an angry tone, a rude attitude, a negative engagement.
Imagine my surprise to hear a pleasing and kind tone from the manager. She expressed an appreciative and apologetic attitude. She thanked us several times for our effort to complete the request and immediately started troubleshooting to find a solution. Speaking with the manager verbally changed my perception of her and my interpretation of her tone and intent from the written exchange on skype.
The multimedia program and my personal experience with
the new hire manager emphasized the importance of using different communication
modalities. Still, most of all, to understand how best to use each modality
appropriately to have the intended impact in effectively communicating the
desired message.
Reference
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (n.d.).
Communicating with stakeholders [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://class.waldenu.edu
I enjoyed reading your description of a difficult communication you experienced. Individual team members have their own motivation in each communication (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.). To promote more effective communication, project managers should reach out to team members they trust and ask them for advice on how to communicate with a difficult team member (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.). Do you think this strategy would have worked in the situation you described?
ReplyDeleteBest regards,
Mary
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (n.d. a). Practitioner voices: Strategies for working with stakeholders [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Hi Mary,
DeleteYes, a project manager must take the initiative to reach out when there is a potential miscommunication. As a rule, if I perceive a miscommunication or confusion in an email exchange, I will reachout after three emails and clarify the details verbally and confirm understanding. Finally, I follow-up the conversation with an email summarizing the discussion.
I appreciate the personal experience you shared about communication. I tend to prefer email for communication due to the documentation and does not cause interruptions since it can be opened on their timeline. I realize that the tone I believe I am sending in email can be received in a completely different manner. Swink (2013) stated, "without these important non-verbal cues, our imaginations fill in the blanks of what the person sending the message sender intended, and how they felt about the communication" (para. 3). Unfortunately, the blanks we fill in are usually negative. I am beginning to see that I rely on email too much for communication and need to allow the receiver to hear my tone when sending a message if possible.
ReplyDeleteReference
Swink, D., (2013). Don't Type at Me Like That! Email and Emotions. Psychology Today. Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/threat-management/201311/dont-type-me-email-and-emotions
Great example of difficult communication with manager. While reading the blog I did interpret the email, as a negative tone. Effective communication is often the foundation of successful projects. Good communication can unite team members and stakeholders to a project’s strategy, objectives and budget. It can also enable everyone involved in the project to understand his or her roles, which may make them more likely to support the project (Villanova University, 2021). I am glad that the interaction with manager turn out to be positive situation where she acknowledge the difficult communication and she apologize. I am glad that the interaction with the manager turned out to be a positive situation where she acknowledged the difficult communication and apologized.
ReplyDeleteReference
Villanova University (2021). Project Communication Plan Definition Tips and Tactics. Retrieved from: https://www.villanovau.com/resources/project-management/project-communication-plan/