In a Nutshell
Constructive communication
preserves a positive relationship between communicators while addressing
problems. Poor approaches to communication, on the other hand, can
exacerbate problems.
When coaching or counseling
an employee who has a negative attitude, a personality conflict with a
coworker or hasn't performed up to expectations, the principles of constructive
communication are particularly important. On these occasions, the
risk of putting the employee on the defensive is very high. In response,
many managers decide not to bother worrying about feelings, and just take
a "hard-nosed" approach. Many other managers go to the other extreme and avoid confronting problems
entirely. A better approach to these situations is addressing the
issue while using the attributes of constructive communication.
Constructive communication
makes managers more effective at coaching and counseling by reducing
defensiveness. Subordinates often react defensively if
they feel they are being punished or threatened by the communication.
When subordinates react defensively, they devote attention to identifying
counterarguments rather than listening. Therefore, communication
is more productive when it is done constructively.
In This Issue
I recently attended a committee meeting where counterproductive dialogue between well-meaning participants risked the survival of the group. Failure to use constructive communication left three committee members feeling frustrated and, perhaps, unappreciated.
During the committee meeting, one of the members raised concerns about an item he saw in the minutes of the previous meeting. When he raised those concerns it took the discussion off the topic on the agenda. In a perfect world, the committee chair would have tactfully told him that we would discuss the concern later, at an appropriate time. However, the committee chair chose to address the issue and did so in a counterproductive manner. The chair, partly because he didn't listen well enough, thought his decision making was being challenged. He became frustrated, defensive and agitated, and he responded to the committee member in a manner that created more frustration. He interrupted the committee member and told him he had nothing to worry about. But, because the chair didn't listen to the issue carefully enough, he didn't really understand the worry being communicated. Later in the meeting, the chair repeated the pattern with another committee member who voiced a concern that was off topic. When the meeting adjourned, all three parties were frustrated.
In retrospect, if the chair was not going to ask the committee members to stick to the agenda, then he needed to listen carefully to the issues being raised and reflect back what was being said. He could have probed as to why the issue was being raised. The chair should have shown respect for each committee member's concerns even though he didn't agree with them. It usually doesn't help to tell someone who is significantly worried that they have nothing to worry about. What's more helpful is to listen to their concerns and tactfully help them see that the problem isn't as bad as they originally thought. Directly telling someone he or she has nothing to worry about can communicate condescension or apathy, particularly when not taking the time to really listen. When we express concerns, we don't want to hear "that's ridiculous" in response. Following the principles of constructive communication is more supportive and causes less conflict.
The Eight Attributes of Constructive Communication
Constructive communication
is particularly helpful when coaching or counseling a member of your staff.
A poorly handled discussion of a staff member's performance can easily
lead to defensiveness and even outright rejection of any suggestions for
improvement.
Problem
oriented, not person oriented. Problem-oriented communication
focuses on a problem that can be solved rather than the person who is responsible
for the problem. An example of problem-oriented communication is
if a committee chair were to tell a committee member, "That topic is not
on today's agenda." On the other hand, an example of person-oriented
communication would be, "You're off topic." Person-oriented communication
puts the listener on the defensive and focuses the attention on blame rather
than on avoiding or solving future problems.
Congruent,
not incongruent. Congruent communication conveys what
the speaker is thinking and feeling. There are definitely situations
where discretion is a more appropriate choice than full disclosure of what
we think and feel. However, in most communication situations, we
communicate more effectively when we're candid. If we aren't honest,
listeners won't trust what we say. A common example of incongruent
communication is saying that "it's no big deal" or "I don't mind" when
you are in fact discussing an important issue. We're constructive
when we use congruent communication because we're giving the other party
the truth rather than misleading them.
Descriptive,
not evaluative. Evaluative communication expresses judgment
of the listener, or his or her actions. To be a constructive communicator,
we should objectively describe problems rather than speak in an evaluative
manner. An example of a blatantly evaluative statement would be,
"Your last shipment was screwed up." Evaluative communication puts
the listener on the defensive. It's more descriptive and therefore
more constructive to say, "Your last shipment left out an important piece."
Validating,
not invalidating. Validating communication helps people
feel understood, valued, and accepted. In contrast, invalidating
communication treats people as if they are ignored, worthless, or alienated.
Invalidating communication is superiority-oriented, rigid, impervious and/or
indifferent.
Consider this example: A
marketing manager must correct one of her staff members for releasing a
sales collateral package to the salesforce without a PowerPoint presentation
that should have been included. When the marketing manager raises
the issue with the staff member, he tells her, "I just thought it would
be better to send the materials we did have right away to give the sales
reps more time to become familiar with them than to wait on the PowerPoint
presentation to be finished. I sent them an e-mail explaining that."
The following responses by the marketing manager are examples of invalidating
communication:
Practicing This Management
Skill
Since this topic is so similar
to June's, listening
effectively, the steps for practicing communicating constructively
are very similar. To practice communicating constructively, plan
to use the attribute of constructive communication that you think you need
to improve the most (e.g., descriptive, not evaluative). Then, after
you have a conversation, evaluate how effective you were at applying the
attributes of constructive communication. Identify what went well
and where the opportunities for improvement are. Think about what
the challenges to communicating constructively were and how you can deal
with those challenges more effectively next time.
Making a tape recording
of a conversation can help you evaluate your performance. With a
tape of a conversation, you can examine each attribute of constructive
communication in detail, without relying on your memory.
In Summary, ...
Failure
to use the principles of constructive communication can cause defensiveness,
insult another party and cause unnecessary conflict. Communication
that is ...
Source
Whetten, D. A., & Cameron,
K. S. (2002). Developing management skills, (5th ed.).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
About the Photo
Chicago White Sox Manager Ozzie
Guillen, left, argues with second base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt after he was
ejected for arguing the call after Carlos Lee was caught stealing at second base
against the Cleveland Indians during the first inning Monday, Aug. 9, 2004, in
Chicago. (AP Photo/Brian Kersey: e-mailed
to me from Yahoo! News; news.yahoo.com)
About the Newsletter
and Subscriptions
LeaderLetter is written
by Dr. Scott Williams, Department of Management, Raj
Soin College of Business, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.
It is a supplement to my MBA 751 - Managing People in Organizations class.
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Let's keep the conversation going.
The strong young man at the
construction site was bragging that he could outdo anyone in a feat of strength.
He made a special case of making fun of one of the older workmen. After
several minutes, the older worker had had enough.
"Why don't you put your money where
your mouth is?" he said. "I will bet a week's wages that I can haul something in
a wheelbarrow over to that building that you won't be able to wheel back."
"You're on, old man," the young guy
replied.
The old man reached out and grabbed
the wheelbarrow by the handles. Then he turned to the young man and said, "All
right. Get in."