In the beginning was the Word

Strategy creation, planning, and goal setting – all these can be complicated by managers' behavioral traits. But what really multiplies complexity in organisations is poor communication. As a good part of the managerial job involves communicating strategies, plans, and sharing information on progress, many managers (unconsciously but constantly) inject complexity in three ways:

• Mismanaging meetings. Too often people walk out of meetings feeling confused, unclear about what happens next, without a decision about an issue, and frustrated about the time spent. If such meetings make up to 80% of your working time then consider improving your meeting management.

• Producing overcomplicated presentations. Initially designed for a good purpose of facilitating communication, PowerPoint and similar tools have soon led to the so-called “death by PowerPoint” effect.  Remember, if presentations are long and complicated nobody will understand and follow them.

• Not asking for feedback. This is the cornerstone of effective communication for managers and all employees. Without a feedback loop you will always be unsure if the right message is getting across in the right way.  The result can be a wasted motion, uncoordinated activity, or worse: a non-executed strategy.

The good news is, even a slight improvement in any of these areas will have an immediate positive effect. Wow, they will say, what a productive meeting we’ve just had – and virtually no slides!

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© Copyright by New Pace Consulting SA, 2010. All rights reserved.
This post is based on “Simply Effective” by Ron Ashkenas.