Around the web there's been a lot of chatter concerning communication lately. The emphasis, instead of being top-down, has rather been talking about bottom-up communications. This is crucial and needs to be cultivated to a much higher degree.
One article quotes Michel de Montaigne saying: “A word is half his who speaks it, half his who hears it.” Communciation is something that not only originates with one and goes to another, but because it is two-way, creates something bigger than receiving it.
One of the great problems of many business leaders is their inclination to insulate themselves. While it is not always done knowingly, nonetheless it can be devastating to leading and making decisions based upon the best information. The major problem is that decisions are made without understanding the overall picture.
We have heard about the managing-by-walking-around idea for quite awhile now, but we must do more than only observe; we must engage. To see what's going on by walking around, without interacting with employees or soliciting their input, will only give us a small part of the picture.
Creating avenues for employees to communicate with management in a way that isn't intimidating or risky to them, should be one of the highest priorities on our list.
Again, the reason is that they are the one's in the trenches day after day and really know what is working or not working. Sure we'll get the gripes and malcontents, but so what. We just need to sift through the dross to find the gold. To make decisions without the input of the workers, leaves a huge gap that no amount of studies or surveys can fill.
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