By Tom Davidson
Left alone, even a parking lot will break apart, sprout weeds, and one day grow a forest. Much the same thing is true in organizations.
Stop complaining about the rumor mill and beat it. Stop waiting for people to come to your door and go to theirs. Stop letting the vacuum of information be filled by others, and fill it yourself.
Here are some tips and strategies to fill the void!
Nature abhors a vacuum. Left alone, even a parking lot will break apart, sprout weeds, and one day grow a forest. Much the same thing is true in organizations. If leaders allow a vacuum of information to form with their direct reports or their organization-as-a-whole, it will be filled anyway — and not usually with accurate facts or preferred perceptions.
Moreover, according to the 2012 Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement by the Society for Human Resource Management, “The relationship an employee has with his or her supervisor is a central element to the employee’s affiliation to the organization…. When there are open lines of communication, supervisors can respond more effectively to the needs and problems of their employees. Effective communication from senior management can provide the workforce with direction.”
Here are three things you can do to fill the void sooner and better:
Go Beyond the Open-door Policy. Old-fashioned “open-door” policies are passive and ineffective. To be a modern manager get outside your door, make yourself endemically accessible, and actively seek out opinions, feedback and involvement. You will never be able to do this too much, but that’s no excuse.
Tell the Bad News as Well as You Sell the Good News. Earn a trustworthy reputation with your staff and all employees by sharing the bad news as well as you do the good. Too bad that it can be uncomfortable or embarrassing; being a straight-shooter earns credibility and makes you the trusted source in the long run.
Be First to Market. As a rule, the first message people hear tends to be believed. If you wait for the rumor mill to control your communication, you will always be fighting first perceptions. As a manager, you must also be a communication professional, one who can use traditional and non-traditional means to reach your audience with regularity and impact.
Stop complaining about the rumor mill and beat it. Stop waiting for people to come to your door and go to theirs. Stop letting the vacuum of information be filled by others, and fill it yourself.
What tips and techniques do you use to fill the void?