The Impact of Poor Communication in a Workplace and How To Solve It
Have you thought of the impression your communication style has on others? Do you find some people more difficult to communicate with? Are the meetings you attend a waste of time? Are there conversations that leave you frustrated, confused and unclear?
In the world of Zoom calls, Teams meetings, emails, phone calls, Telegram and WhatsApp group chats and one-to-one in person conversations, communicating is easier than ever, but the question is, are we communicating effectively?
WHAT IS EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION?
Effective communication is not just an exchange of thoughts, ideas and information. It is about communicating with intent and purpose, it is about understanding the emotions present as well as actively listening and making the receiver heard and understood, while ineffective communication is open to interpretation, is often emotion-driven, doesn’t create safe space and the rapport can easily get broken. An interesting fact you probably didn’t know about is that only 7% of communication relates to the words that we speak - the rest pertains to verbal and non-verbal communication, such as body language and tone of voice.
In our modern day fast-paced message exchange via Slack, Hangouts, 24/7 emails and phone calls, which are often done under stress and pressure, our communication can become very quick, vague and abrupt. The quality is being compromised for quantity.
WHAT IS THE ISSUE WITH QUALITY COMPROMISE?
Misunderstandings and Emotional Bursts
Indistinct and nonspecific messaging can be a minefield for misinterpretations. Each person interprets information differently and if there is lack of specificity and clear intent, it can leave a lot of room for guessing. As humans we tend to think of the worst case scenarios first, don’t we, often filling these communication blanks with less pleasant thoughts and suspicions, which can bring an arousal of negative emotions such as anger, frustration or irritation and potentially loss of trust, drive and interest.
WHAT IS THE CULPRIT OF POOR COMMUNICATION?
The study “Communication Barriers in the Modern Workplace,” conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit identified that the most fundamental communication barrier in the workplace boils down to different communication styles of individuals. No matter how effective communication platforms are, it is all down to each individual to recognise how to successfully convey the message. That’s why having the knowledge and ability to recognise someone’s preferred modes of speaking and thinking can be the missing key to building strong and trusting relationships in the workplace as well as in personal life. That’s exactly what NLP allows us to do. It allows us to dive into the world of effective communication and the specifics of how to decipher someone’s communication style and teaches us the tools and techniques to easily and effortlessly build and sustain rapport and positively influence others.
HOW CAN POOR COMMUNICATION AFFECT THE WORKPLACE?
The repercussions of ineffective communication can have severe impact on the business, from the loss of sales through reduced morale, lack of trust, commitment and motivation to heightened stress levels and reduced productivity.
TIME AND PERFORMANCE
Research shows that on average individuals spend a few extra hours of work per week because of poor communication. Can you only imagine how this extra energy spent on troubleshooting and clarity seeking, which could be easily avoided with the right tools and techniques, negatively influences their overall performance and wellbeing? This creates a closed loop because increased stress and pressure fuels the tone of communication, which again fuels the negative response, which then fuels motivation to perform well and the loop carries on and will only get cut off by either the employee getting fired or simply leaving because of a burnout and unappreciation. There is no win-win outcome here.
LEADERSHIP
Have you noticed that we are more likely to hear an employee complain about their managers than praise them? Could their communication or lack of it be the one to blame?
Team leaders stand at the forefront of successful teams. They are meant to facilitate dialogues that bring trust, promote transparency and lead to positive, desired outcomes.
Unfortunately, many leaders practise poor communication which breeds distrust and directly influences team’s motivation or lack of it, decreases accountability and performance and increases team turnover. Leaders’ incompetence to facilitate dialogues is often fuelled by lack of patience, inability to actively listen and efficiently channel information to appropriate parties.
It is also noteworthy that our future leaders, millennials, who are used to a short and casual way of engaging with each other via social media or instant messaging, will also need to expand their communication styles and learn how to recognise, adapt and utilize different communication modes if they want to be good leaders and reach people across all generations.
HOW CAN YOU COMMUNICATE BETTER?
The ability to convey messages clearly is a skill that requires practise and is a form of art in itself but it is the art that each individual should master, no matter what position they hold. Whether you choose to say something or remain silent - you are communicating. You cannot not communicate.
So what can we do to communicate better and build stronger relationships?
MEETINGS
Meetings, whether in person or online, are a fantastic way to continue building strong links with others, but I am certain that many of us have sat in meetings that were somewhat pointless, had no clear agenda or if they did, it wasn’t followed by the participants. There is no benefit of having a meeting just so the team can watch the faces of their coworkers on the screen for a full hour and a half. Having set intentions, clear objectives and knowing how to conduct meetings that bring value to all participants and create outcomes, is a skill that should be learnt by all leaders.
TEAM EVENTS
Team bonding events in person are a brilliant way to connect with the team indeed, however, a one day event is not the solution to a problem that keeps being fuelled on a daily basis. Yes, it can positively transform the team’s dynamics and enhance bonding and I highly encourage such activities - after all nothing can replace face-to-face contact, but it is important to know that the work that is done outside of the workshop matters the most. If the workshop provides the right toolkit which the team can walk away with and practise on a daily - you’re in for the win!
MASTERING COMMUNICATION SKILLS
As someone who has managed different multi-disciplinary teams from all backgrounds across different sectors, I can confidently tell you that understanding another person’s way of communicating, mastering active listening skills, body language reading and learning to recognise someone’s way of thinking by the words they use, has had the biggest impact on efficacy and meaningfulness of each interaction I’ve had. It is what allowed me to understand performance issues, solve internal conflicts, negotiate deals, inspire my teams and essentially create a more fulfilling, successful and happy life.
We communicate in every moment of our day-to-day life, this is not exclusive to the workplace. Investing in your communication toolkit and mastering your communication skills with others and yourself (hello self-talk) is the first step to improving the quality of your personal and professional life.
Remember, you cannot not communicate!
If you would like to learn more about how to master your own communication style and how to positively influence others, then get in touch with me today to find out how my training and workshops can help: hello@alinadabek.com
Alina Dabek is a Mindset Coach, NLP Trainer and Nutritional Therapist with a background in private healthcare management, retail and fitness.
Alina works with professionals and companies helping them improve mental resilience, enhance effective communication skills, master high performing mindset and unlock their infinite potential so that they can design the fulflling life they love.
