How many times have you said something to your employees only to discover their response was no where near what you thought it should have been?

Perhaps you issued directions for a project to be carried out in a very specific way for a particular customer. Later you learned the project was not completed in the manner you directed. Upon finding out what happened, you went into a rage of fury, your customer threatened to never do business with you again, and your employee couldn't understand why you were so upset! After all he did what you told him to do. How many times have you asked that same employee and others, "why don't you listen to me, or, "why in the world did you do that?"

Communication is a complex issue, isn't it? With all our different styles of listening, speaking, and behaving it isn't likely to get any less complex in the near future.

It's an age old problem. Last Sunday at Mass, our Priest told the story from the Old Testament about the Tower of Babel. Many of you are probably familiar with that story. It's the story about how the people of Babel decided they would claim their stake in history by building a tower that reached up into the heavens. As they set out to build the tower, their communication was scrambled. Suddenly, one could not understand a word the other was saying. I have visions of one worker calling for bricks and getting mortar, while another calling for mortar only to be brought a pile of bricks! For anyone not familiar with the story, you've probably guessed the ending. The tower was never built.

Do you have days in your business when you feel you and your employees are building the Tower of Babel? If so, you are not alone. It happens to the best of them. Here are some ways you can make sure you and your employees agree on what you intend to communicate:

1. When giving directions, ask employee to repeat what you've said so you can agree on the intended outcome.



2. Give clear, concise, and complete information including the purpose for such directions.



3. Timing is important. When giving directions, make sure your employee is not distracted. A good way to insure that is to say, "when you're finished with that..."



4. Make sure YOU fully understand your objectives and your desired outcome before passing them along to your employees. Don't leave them saying to themselves, "he never knows exactly what he wants anyway."



5. Be patient. Allow your employees to ask questions for clarification. Don't hesitate to ask them, "do you have any questions about how or why...?



6. Don't try to build a tower with its top in the heavens!

Remember, it really does not matter what you think you said, the only thing that counts is the response you get. If you're not getting the response you're looking for, practice using these steps when communicating to your employees what you want done.

Other Articles by Barbara Davis:
Here's To Mastery!
Follow that Leader...
When Did I Say That?