I have heard the following advice given to protect your hearing for life:
When listening to any type of audio – music, television, etc. – do the following to ensure that the volume is at a level that is sufficient for you to hear but not loud enough to cause hearing damage. Turn the volume level down until it is completely muted, then slowly turn the volume back up until it is at a comfortable level.
Try this the next time you are listening to the radio while driving in your car – it really does work. I find that I end up with a volume level that is much lower than when I started every time that I do this. I offer this up as an analogy for what an organization needs to do on a regular basis to ensure that the level of communication and complication has not become higher than what the recipients can receive without hearing damage – or damage to their ability to perform. Examine all "how-to", direction and instruction that your company is providing. Do this by asking those for whom it is intended. However, be careful of "yes people". You need to ask the right people – those that will give you honest answers. You will ultimately get true feedback if you first inform those that you are asking the reasons for your inquiry – that you are interested in curtailing excessive communication – that you desire to create an organization of creativity and good thinking. Challenge your organization to make the communication as tight as possible – the shorter and to the point – the better. Create "stop communicating" lists. In other words; lists of subjects, topics, formats and vehicles that you will stop communicating on due to their lack of any real value.
Sometimes it is beneficial to completely throw out a method of communication or instruction and start again from scratch. If you re-create what you had before, it may be a sign that what you had was good, (be careful it could also be a sign of a lack of good thinking.) Chances are that the newly created communication method or vehicle will have changed to some degree – from a small amount to a completely different concept. Your new method would likely include changes in time, technology, and be adjusted according to the "learnings" acquired using the old method. Sometimes it is best to wipe the slate clean and start over – turn the volume off completely and then re-adjust it slowly upwards until it is just at the comfortable level.
You might be saying, "Everyone in my organization wants more communication – not less." I have heard the same throughout my career. However, I have also found that it is not more communication that they are seeking, but better communication. More is not necessarily better. They are looking for concise, to the point, relevant and useful communication.
The other problem that you may come across is those people who actually desire detailed communication. If your organization has been subjected to over-communication for a long period of time, it may have created those individuals who want and must have detailed and explicit communication. These people have been conformed to the status of "doers". People will turn off their thinking capabilities if encouraged long enough. The good news is that they can also turn it back on. You will need to create a vacuum in the instruction and "how-to" for a period of time. Just as it took time for them to stop thinking, it will take time for them to start thinking again.
Copyright 2009: Excerpt from "Consequence of Leadership" by Craig Mostat published by Lulu.com
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment