Archive for the ‘Communication’ Category
Nice one, Dave
It is strange how many issues come to one’s notice through conversations initiated around the coffee machine. Just the other day, I was getting myself a caffeine fix when Dave wandered by.
“How are you going, Dave?” I asked.
“Hmm good…. good,” he said, nodding absently. He’d looked a little abstracted lately – focusing on the reports he was doing for Finance, no doubt – or so I thought. Then he looked at me and said, “Those reports I’m doing – I still haven’t received all the requirements for them.”
I got a little alarmed; the first tranche of the reports were due next week. “Wasn’t Ralph supposed to get them to you a couple of weeks ago?” I asked.
“He hasn’t given me everything I need.”
“Have you reminded him?” An obvious question that had to be asked.
“Yes – several times.”
“And…what did he say?”
“He didn’t respond to my emails.”
Ah, Dave, Dave. You should know better than to send reminders through email and not follow-up.
Some background: As you may have gathered, Ralph’s in Finance and Dave’s in IT. Dave does a fair bit of reporting work for Finance, hence the work connection between the two. They also happen to be located in the same building – less than a minute’s stroll apart. Yet, I reckon most of the communication between them is via email. The only time they talk to each other, face-to-face, is at the occasional meeting.
Dave should have wandered over to Ralph’s office to have a chat. Although Dave had done the right thing (at least in letter, if not spirit) by sending Ralph reminders, he could have done much better. Email is a sub-optimal mode of communication because, among other things, emails can go “missing” (consider the familiar excuse: “Oh, I must have deleted it by mistake.”), or be misunderstood if the tone’s wrong or content incomplete. On the other hand, face-to-face conversations can’t be ignored, and any potential misunderstandings can be sorted on the spot. Further, they also enable one to listen to what’s not said, through observation of non-verbal signals or body language. So, the next time you start to type out that electronic missive, stop a minute and ask yourself, “Can I do this by conversation instead?” If so, do so.
In politically charged situations, where there’s a danger that a conversation may be denied or conveniently forgotten, one might consider sending a follow-up email that summarises the conversation and agreed actions. But in my experience that is rarely as useful as it’s made out to be.
Perhaps you’re wondering what happened about reports. Here’s the rest of the story. After some prompting Dave had a chat with Ralph and fixed up a time to discuss the reports. Dave got his missing requirements and a delivery date was agreed on. It looks as though the reports will be ready on time. What’s more, Dave tells me that he has been talking to Ralph a lot lately, showing him work in progress and getting useful feedback on it. Ralph has a good idea of what he’ll get in the end, and Dave has peace of mind knowing that his work is indeed on track. Even better, I’ve had some feedback from Ralph as well, commending Dave on his initiative and work.
Happy customers reflect well on the team. Nice one, Dave!
A cliche-ridden corporate crisis in five limericks
In times of crisis, some managers tend to lapse into cliche-speak. So it’s no surprise that things go from bad to verse…
Market churn has set us adrift.
What we need is a paradigm shift.
Get our ducks in a row,
push the envelope,
to keep us from going o’er the cliff.
The boss says, “Let’s touch base.
Make game-plans for the next phase.
We’ll have meetings and talks.
Think outside the box,
to ensure we’re still in the race.”
But the elephant in the room
refuses to sing to our tune,
or dance to our beat,
sing from the same sheet
– even once in a blue moon.
Chin up! We’re still in the ring.
The fat lady hasn’t started to sing.
It ain’t over, they say,
’til it’s over, so hey,
let’s see what the new day will bring.
In the end, we stake our claim
to fifteen seconds of fame.
All said and done,
we’ve hit a home run
in the dying minutes of the game.
Incidentally, portions of this piece have been reproduced as an epigram in Chapter 1 of my book, The Heretic’s Guide to Best Practices. Quite appropriately, that chapter is entitled, Platitudes: empty words that make a lot of noise…
The Jekyll and Hyde manager
Marty was in the server room, working with the consultant from Guaranteed Uptime, when Rob burst in. “Marty, I want you to go over to Jan’s desk right away,” he said. “She’s having trouble with the CMS again.”
“OK Rob, just as soon as I finish here.”
“No! You’ll need to go right away. If she doesn’t get looked after she’ll complain direct to Max. Then he’ll raise a stink about how inefficient IT is.” Rob’s tone was such that even the consultant looked up in askance.
Marty had been through this before. “Yeah Rob, give me five minutes. We’re almost done here.”
“You’d better get down there soon,” he said. Then , turning abruptly, he stomped off slamming the door on his way out.
The consultant looked at Marty, eyebrows raised.
“Don’t ask”, said Marty, and continued with his work.
Less than five minutes later…
“Uh oh,” said Marty sotto voce, as he heard Rob crash in again.
“I thought I told you to go over to Jan. Drop what you’re doing and go…NOW!”
Marty shook his head, and turning to the consultant he said, “I’ll be back in five.” He brushed past Rob and walked out.
—
The next day, word of Rob’s tantrum got around within the team. Regardless of the urgency of Jan’s problem, the consensus was that Rob’s behaviour was not acceptable. Yet, everyone knew that nothing would change. Rob had joined the company just under a year ago, and had been anxious to make a mark from day one. Obviously he’d succeeded, because although his team didn’t think much of him, senior management seemed to have a different view…
—
“Hi Max. Everything OK? Anything we can do for you?” asked Rob in a tone of faux sincerity. He’d spied Max entering the IT area and had rushed out to greet him.
“No. It’s all good. You’ve been looking after us very well. Jan mentioned that you sorted out some problems for her double quick yesterday.” He took Rob aside. “Look,” he said, “you’ve been doing a fine job since you took over. It’s been noticed, and even talked about at the recent board meeting. Well done, and keep it going.”
Max’s words sounded like an endorsement to Rob. “After all,” he thought, “if management likes what I’m doing, I must be doing a good job.”
—
Jekyll and Hyde and managers such as Rob are a fact of corporate life. They are easily recognised by the two faces they present at work – Jekyll to those who they report to and Hyde to those who report to them. Such behaviour enables them to get ahead in the short run but, because they ruin their work relationships in the process, they often lose out in the longer term.
There is another way, of course. That is to get ahead by doing things right. The two are not mutually exclusive, regardless of what Jekyll and Hyde managers may think. It is possible to advance and treat everyone, regardless of their position, with respect and consideration. If done this way, one will advance and also retain the loyalty of those who one may depend on in the future.
Eight to Late 