Links to Articles on Interpersonal Behavior and Communication
Introduction
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. Effective communication is an essential component of organizational success whether it is at the interpersonal, intergroup, intragroup, organizational, or external levels.
In this chapter we will cover the basic process of communication and then we will cover some of the most difficult communication issues managers face-providing constructive and effective feedback and performance appraisal.
The Communication Process
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.Consider the simple example:
- Terry: "I won't make it to work again tomorrow; this pregnancy keeps me nausious and my doctor says I should probably be reduced to part time.
- Boss: Terry, this is the third day you've missed and your appointments keep backing up; we have to cover for you and this is messing all of us up.
| Message to be sent | decode some error likely |
encoded by receiver some error likely) |
message received |
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. But it is also common among people of the same cuture.
Look at the example. Terry has what appears to be a simple message to convey-she won't make it to work today because of nausia. But she had to translate the thoughts into words and this is the first potential source of error. Was she just trying to convey that she would be late; was she trying to convey anything else. It turns out she was. She was upset because she perceived that her co-workers weren't as sympathetic to her situation as they should be. Her co-workers, however, were really being pressured by Terry's continued absences, and her late calls. They wished she would just take a leave of absence, but Terry refuses because she would have to take it without pay.
Thus what appears to be a simple communication is, in reality, quite complex. Terry is communicating far more than that she would miss work; she is conveying a number of complex emotions, complicated by her own complex feelings about pregnancy, work, and her future.
She sent a message but the message is more than the words; it includes the tone, the timing of the call, and the way she expressed herself.
Similarly, the boss goes through a complex communication process in "hearing" the message. The message that Terry sent had to be decoded and given meaning. There are many ways to decode the simple message that Terry gave and the way the message is heard will influence the response to Terry.
In this case the boss heard far more than a simple message that Terry won't be at work today. The boss "heard" hostility from Terry, indifference, lack of consideration, among other emotions. Terry may not have meant this, but this is what the boss heard.
Communications is so difficult because at each step in the process there major potential for error. By the time a message gets from a sender to a receiver there are four basic places where transmission errors can take place and at each place, there are a multitude of potential sources of error. 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 attribute meaning to what someone else is
saying, the verbal part of the message actually means less than the non-verbal
part. The non-verbal part includes such things as body language and tone.
Nonverbal communication is made up of the following parts:
Similarly, we use "things" to communicate. This can involve expensive things,
neat or messy things, photographs, plants, etc. Image: We use clothing
and other dimensions of physical appearance to communicate our values and
expectations Nonverbal Communication:
Skillful communicators understand the importance of nonverbal communication
and use it to increase their effectiveness, as well as use it to understand mroe
clearly what someone else is really saying.
A word of warning. Nonverbal cues can differ dramatically from culture to
culture. An American hand gesture meaning "A-OK" would be viewed as obscene in
some South American countries. Be careful.
Skill in communication involves a number of specific strengths. The first we
will discuss involves listening skills. The following lists some suggests for
effective listening when confronted with a problem at work:
In addition, a supportive and effective listener does the following:
This manager is struggling with one of the most important yet trickiest and
most difficult management tasks: providing contructive and useful feedback to
others. Effective feedback is absolutely essential to organizational
effectiveness; people must know where they are and where to go next in terms of
expectations and goals-yours, their own, and the organization.
Feedback taps basic human needs-to improve, to compete, to be accurate;
people want to be competent. Feedback can be reinforcing; if given properly,
feedback is almost always appreciated and motivates people to improve. But for
many people, daily work is like bowling with a curtain placed between them and
the pins; they receive little information.
Be aware of the many reasons why people are hesitant to give feedback; they
include fear of causing embarassment, discomfort, fear of an emotional reaction,
and inability to handle the reaction.
It is crucial that we realize how critical feedback can be and overcome our
difficulties; it is very important and can be very rewarding but it requires
skill, understanding, courage, and respect for yourself and others.
Withholding constructive feedback is like sending people out on a dangerous
hike without a compass. This is especially true in today's fast changing and
demanding workplace
As important as feedback is, this critical managerial task remains one of the
most problematic. Many managers would rather have root canal work than provide
feedback to another-especially feedback that might be viewed as critical. Why
are managers so reluctant to provide feedback? The Reasons are many:
Other factors get in the way of effective communication or feedback sessions.
Some of these reasons are:
People often react negatively to threatening feedback. This reaction can take
a number of forms including:
Maria: My project coordinator, Judy, is in a slump; she's just not
producing her usual caliber of work. I need to find out what the problem is.
On the surface, it would seem that getting good information is easy. But like
other forms of communication, it takes planning and experience to develop skills
in this area
State your understanding of what you are hearing This can be
done by restating briefly what the other person is saying but don't make fun of
it Observe the basic principles of communication
How well did the manager:
Barriers to Effective Communication
There are a wide number of sources
of noise or interference that can enter into the communication process. This can
occur when people now each other very well and should understand the sources of
error. In a work setting, it is even more common since interactions involve
people who not only don't have years of experience with each other, but
communication is complicated by the complex and often conflictual relationships
that exist at work. In a work setting, the following suggests a number of
sources of noise:
You work in a Japanese company in the US. You have noticed that the
Japanese staff explains only the conclusion to Americans when they address a
problem, rather than discussin the steps to the conclusion. Also , the Japanese
staff sends reports directly to Japan without showing them to you. Go to
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Reading Nonverbal Communication Cues
A large percentage (studies
suggest over 90%) of the meaning we derive from communication, we derive from
the non-verbal cues that the other person gives. Often a person says one thing
but communicates something totaly different through vocal intonation and body
language. These mixed signals force the receiver to choose between the verbal
and nonverbal parts of the message. Most often, the receiver chooses the
nonverbal aspects. Mixed messages create tension and distrust because the
receiver senses that the communicator is hiding something or is being less than
candid.
At the risk of stereotyping, we will
generalize and state that Americans and Northern Europeans typify the noncontact
group with small amounts of touching and relativley large spaces between them
during transactions. Arabs and Latins normally stand closer together and do a
lot of touching during communication.
A "majority" of the meaning we attribute to words comes not
from the words themselves, but from nonverbal factors such as gestures, facial
expressions, tone, body language, etc. Nonverbal cues can play five roles:
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Developing Communication Skills: Listening Skills
There are a number of
situations when you need to solicit good information from others; these
situations include interviewing candidates, solving work problems, seeking to
help an employee on work performance, and finding out reasons for performance
discrepancies.
A major source of problem in communication is defensiveness. Effective
communicators are aware that defensiveness is a typical response in a work
situation especially when negative information or criticism is involved. Be
aware that defensiveness is common, particularly with subordinates when you are
dealing with a problem. Try to make adjustments to compensate for the likely
defensiveness. Realize that when people feel threatened they will try to protect
themselves; this is natural. This defensiveness can take the form of aggression,
anger, competitiveness, avoidance among other responses. A skillful listener is
aware of the potential for defensiveness and makes needed adjustment. He or she
is aware that self-protection is necessary and avoids making the other person
spend energy defending the self.
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Constructive Feedback: Developing your Skills
"I don't know how
to turn her performance around; she never used to have these attendance problems
and her work used to be so good; I don't know why this is happening and what to
do."
Why managers are often reluctant to provide feedback
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Characteristics of Effective Feedback
Effective Feedback has most of the
following characteristics:
Part of the feedback process involves understanding
and predicting how the other person will react. Or in the case of our receiving
feedback, we need to understand ways that we respond to feedback, especially
threatening feedback.
Following the guidelines to effective
feedback can go a long way to limit these kinds of reactions but we need to be
conscious of them nonetheless and be ready to react appropriately.
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A Short Example of Effective Communication
Example:
Key Techniques
Focus the discussion on the information needed
Judy, I've noticed in the past month that you've fallen behind on keeping the
project schedule current. I'd like to figure out with you what we both can do to
get it back on track.
Use open-ended questions to expand the
discussion You've always kept the schedule up to the minute-until about a
month ago. Why the change?
Use closed ended questions to prompt
for specifics "What projects are you working on that take time away from
your work on this project (warning: closed ended questions are often disguised
as open ended as in "Are you going to have trouble finishing this
project?)
Encourage dialogue through eye contact and
expression This involves nodding in agreeemnt, smiling, leaning toward
the speaker, making statements that acknowledge the speaker is being heard.
"So it sounds like these phone calls have ended up taking a lot
more time than you or Jay expected; you think the three of us should talk about
priorities; is this your position?"
Summarize the key points;
try to get some agreement on the next steps and show appreciation for the
effort made so far. "So let's call Jay right now and set up a time when we can
meet and iron this out; keeping the schedule updated is a high priority and I'd
like to get this settled by Wednesday.
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A Planning Form for Constructive Feedback
Instructions: Before the
feedback session, answer these questions:
What pitfalls do you need to watch out for
and how will these be overcome:from your experience, what potential pitfalls
will you need to overcome in order ot achieve success in giving constructive
feedback? How will you overcome these pitfalls
Evaluating the Feedback Session
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Three Kinds of Interviews
Tell and Sell:
Tell and Listen
Problem Solving
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