Cindy

A good opening salvo! For sure, the evidence as well as the common sense assumptions validate that communication from managers to employees generates improved/increased engagement.

And the benefits of that engagement are as well evidenced and assumed.

The questions are:

- What types of communication?
- For what purposes and in what forums?
- How often? How detailed?

And there are more questions.

Communication is a cornerstone of my work in building an Employee Engagement Culture. And we are talking about communication from the manager to the employee. I offer three suggestions:

1. Ask what you do not know. A manager/leader should be just as eager to learn as anyone. In fact, the manager/leader wants to demonstrate the true Questioning Mind behavior if she wants hers to be a true Learning Organization.

2. Answer from your heart and from your head. Managers and leaders are thought to have the answers all thought out. You want your answers to have feeling as well. Keep in mind that people enjoy working for/with those who care. Care originates in the heart.

3. Listen to what you say. By listening objectively to what we say, we give ourselves (and our communication partner) great opportunities. These include the opportunity to correct, to add, to qualify, to verify and validate. Perhaps most important is the opportunity to avoid the “Did I say that?! I didn’t say that?! Did I…?!”

Thanks, Cindy, for listening.

Tim