When I am following up on status about a particular task, I discover this one little task that’s needed to get the job done is sometimes left idle because they are not sure who to delegate the task to. I have made two observations as to where the problem originates from, either they have been following up with the wrong person (find out later when the person finally says something) or when the person receives the information they dont know what to do with it and let it sit. Rather than ask around who gave them this assignment and bring it up that this is not something that they handle, it sits there on their desk….marinating. I have already communicated during staff meetings that they cannot cop the attitude of “it’s not my responsibility and leave it there” and yet these problems continue to arise. What steps should be taken to prevent these communication breakdowns?
Filed under: Communication, Delegation | Tagged: communication breakdowns
It is hard to tell from the information that you have given whether your problem is organizational (culture), leadership, or skill (poor delegator).
Delegation is one of the most important tasks as a leader. When done correctly, it develops your succession, increases your personal productivity, and motivates your people. In my blog I recently shared seven steps to proper delegation:
1. Defining What to Delegate
2. Selecting the Individual or Team
3. Assess Appropriate Level of Delegation
4. Communicate Tasks In Specific Terms
5. State Measurable Results
6. Agree on Deadlines
7. Follow-up and Feedback
If your problem is poor delegation you are welcome to read the entire article at http://executivecoachhms.wordpress.com/2008/02/06/seven-steps-to-delegating-for-results.
Here are some questions you should consider asking to determine which type of problem you are having:
What is it about the organizational culture that allows people to not take responsiblility?
Is delegation the only place that communication problems are showing up?
Was the original request stated in a SMART format (specific, measureable, attainable, realistic, and had a target date)?
Was it originally delegated to the right person?
Was the person delegating being responsible? In other words, did that person consider what other responsibilities people had before they added another?
Does the organzation have clear goals and are the aligned?
Does the organizaiton have stated core values, does everyone know what they are, and do the senior most executives exemplify them?
Good Luck!
We came across an interesting article from :
http://bizsuccesswithless.wordpress.com/2008/04/19/the-1-problem-in-business-today/#comment-7
Hope this helps!
Morale and productivity really suffer when there is poor communication. It is a primary contributor to turnover and higher costs! A University of Michigan study revealed that the #1 desire of workers is not higher pay or better working conditions but “Feeling in on things, a sense of belonging.” This only happens through effective communication where people know you care for them personally, appreciate them and are grateful for their contribution to your business or organization. Bringing people in on decisions that affect them, asking them for input about problems you’re facing, involving them in the planning process, keeping before them your company vision and direction, and letting them know how you’re doing financially – all these contribute to a more satisfied and stable workforce and a better bottom line.
Here are some questions to help you evaluate your communication process:
Do I listen, listen, listen for meaning instead of quickly forming my response?
Do I listen more than I talk and ask appropriate questions to gain better understanding?
Do I rephrase – for better understanding – something someone tells me?
Do I give my people constant feedback on what’s expected and how they’re doing?
Do I periodically ask them: Ways to cut costs? Improve quality? Increase efficiency? Provide better customer satisfaction?
Do I walk my talk, act the way I expect and want others to act?
Do I correctly read body language (93% of communication is non-verbal)?
Do I understand what I am communicating by MY body language?
Do I periodically conduct training on effective communication?
Do I rely on face-to-face means when practical, rather than e-mails, phone or memos?
Do I try and stick with facts rather than share assumptions?
Do I keep my people informed about my business, industry, market, customers, etc.?
Good communication builds trust. Developing good communication is very difficult because we all filter what we hear or see or read through biases, past experiences, and what we THINK the other person’s hidden agenda might be. As Stephen Covey says in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “Seek first to understand, and then be understood.” Good advice from an expert.
Become more conscious of your communication habits and ACTIVELY work at improving your communication process! Start today with just one thing from the list above.
I experienced a similar problem with one of my drivers when a customer complained about the food being cold by the time the food was delivered. Rather than taking responsibility, he started blaming how long the restaurant took. At the end, the customer just wants to have their food delivered warm. In reevaluating our business processes we now handle less orders per driver. We looked at how Super Shuttle handles a certain number of passengers that they take to the airport to ensure that they arrive on time. Since then we haven’t received any complaints in the last 4 months.
Robert Shapiro, former Chairman and CEO of Monsanto said:
“If you could get every person to be 30% more effective in performing their jobs, not by working harder and not by working smarter in ways that have already been tapped, but by becoming 30% more effective in working together, you’d be way ahead of you industry.”
One way of effectively delegating responsibilities is to incorporate a web software that makes sense with your process. A simple project management system and very cost effective is http://www.basecamphcq.com/ You can assign to do’s (which fulfills item #2 Selecting the Individual or Team and #3 Communicate Tasks In Specific Terms that Howard Shore recommended above) and milestones (item # 6 Agree on Deadlines) which ties in with the tasks surrounding the project. This particular web tool allows everyone to have a calendar system to refer to in order to understand overall deliverables and ensure an effective working environment. Some of the benefits are:
1. Eliminate the wasted time spent collectively sorting through tons of emails and message threads to obtain real-time project status.
2. Eliminate the wasted time spent following up on items we need to move forward on to complete projects. i.e. overall status reporting, and next step direction
3. Eliminate confusion about where a project is and who’s responsible for the next step for completion.
4. Create a realistic project roll out so projects/services are delivered on time.
My suggestion is to proactively encourage everyone to actively follow milestone delegation and contribute thoughtful feedback and ideas to continuously to improve the effectiveness of using this tool. This is where leadership comes into play AND the ability to embrace the positive and negative that comes with evolving with your team’s style.
We took an excerpt from this article Bert Oliva wrote:
People in organizations typically spend over 75% of their time in an interpersonal situation; thus it is no surprise to find that at the root of a large number of organizational problems is poor communications. Although all of us have been communicating with others since our infancy, the process of transmitting information from an individual (or group) to another is a very complex process with many sources of potential error.
Communication requires managing nonverbal cues, overcoming listening barriers, developing speaking skills, planning and participating in meetings, and making productive telephone calls. In any communication at least some of the “meaning” lost in simple transmission of a message from the sender to the receiver. In many situations a lot of the true message is lost and the message that is heard is often far different than the one intended. This is most obvious in cross-cultural situations where language is an issue. Thus it is no surprise that social psychologists estimate that there is usually a 40-60% loss of meaning in the transmission of messages from sender to receiver.
It is critical to understand this process, understand and be aware of the potential sources of errors and constantly counteract these tendencies by making a conscientious effort to make sure there is a minimal loss of meaning in your conversation. It is also very important to understand that a majoring of communication is non-verbal. This means that when we speak to someone it is not only what we are saying but what our physiology is saying matters as well. Intonation and body movement can tell a whole other story.
So, in an effort to communicate the true meaning of what you are saying, learn how to say it. We must pay attention to the little details that can really give others the meaning of what we are trying to say.
Bert Oliva Wealth Academy has various programs to help people understand their true meaning. Please contact Info@BertOliva.com to sign up for one of our mesmerizing seminar on “Body Language, The Art of Interacting with Others” or visit http://www.bertoliva.com