Comments on: A Manager Who Can’t Communicate Can’t Lead

By: Twitted by martinsoorjoo

Twitted by martinsoorjoo — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:40:58 +0000

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By: Sean

Sean — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:31:42 +0000

Craig, thanks for stopping by. At one company, we did multi-feedback as part of the annual review process. We needed to provide a list of “clients” to our boss, and he’d ship a one-pager off to gather feedback. It’s a great device and adds a lot of value if it’s thoughtfully considered.

Take care!
S.

By: Craig Pearce

Craig Pearce — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:31:58 +0000

I am a fan of anonymous 360 degree feedback from all employees who report to the relevant person – and maybe a few more.

That way people can express their views without fear and the messages and advice gets through to the relevant person.

Just like in a family situation, it is role modelling which creates a culture and the difference. And as we spend so much of our lives at work, it is the socially responsible thing to make life pleasant, interesting and rewarding for those who we work with, but particularly those who we are ‘responsible’ for as leaders/managers.

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:30:14 +0000

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This post was mentioned on Twitter by CommAMMO: A Manager Who Can’t Communicate Can’t Lead. New post: http://bit.ly/81u9az #li…

By: Sean

Sean — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:29:07 +0000

Jeff, thanks for the comment.

Yes, several firms have strong manager communication methodology (or they did when I trained them!) — Merck, Prudential, First Energy, John Deere — all of them invested in manager communication training as a precursor to making communication skills a stronger part of evaluation. The trick is getting the firms to continue helping sharpen the saw after the consultant goes home. Also, many many companies use the Gallup Q12 method of employee engagement survey, which has a strong bias toward effective managerial communication. The engagement data is so important that they typically want communication skills training to help the managers be more effective…

There are independent best practices we can apply to a general template of managerial behavior — holding staff meetings, one-on-ones, sharing context and information, asking for input prior to plan development, etc., all appear in most overall managerial communication assessments….

By: Jeff Dafler

Jeff Dafler — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:35:02 +0000

Sean: Another interesting post. I am especially intrigued by your idea about assessing the communication skills of managers. How do you see that playing itself out in a business context? Communication is actually among the competencies on which managers in my company are evaluated. The potential problem is that the evaluation is made primarily by an individual’s manager. (I say “primarily” because in some instances input is sought from others in the organization in a “360″ format.) That manager might be a great communicator — or that manager might be a lousy communicator. Either way, are you suggesting some “expert” form of evaluating managerial communication skills? In-house or third-party? Also, it would only seem fair to offer some form of formal training in communication for managers as part of professional development opportunities if it is among the criteria on which individual performance will be judged. Are you aware of companies with such training programs? It would make for an interesting research project, potentially testing that link between communicative comptence and managerial effectiveness.
Jeff

By: Twitted by CommAMMO

Twitted by CommAMMO — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:56:23 +0000

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Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:25:25 +0000

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