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In any organization, the flow of communication between people is vital to productivity, and plays a huge role in shaping organizational culture and influencing your experience of being at work.
When communication is open and easy, people are more likely to contribute their thoughts and ideas, accept accountability, and provide leadership.
When communication is suppressed, controlled, or dominated, people are less likely to contribute their thoughts and ideas, and less likely to engage in the kind of new conversations that can lead to new results.
As a leader, what can you do to get the communication flowing in your organization?
Here are 5 questions you can ask yourself to get the ball rolling…
- What new conversation can I start today to engage the people I lead and ignite their creativity, and what difference could that conversation make?
- What communication have I been unwilling to hear from other people, or unwilling to receive, and what difference could it make to receive or accept that communication?
- What conversations have I been deliberately avoiding having with other people, and what difference could it make if I stop avoiding them?
- What worthwhile or valuable conversations have I become resigned about having, and what difference could it make to let go of my resignation?
- What is there that needs or wants to be communicated, that hasn’t been communicated, and what difference could that communication make?
The point of answering these questions is to cultivate your awareness of new opportunities to generate communication, and to help stimulate the flow of communication around you. It’s important to realize that this isn’t a free pass to start dishing out all the complaints and criticisms you’ve been holding onto, since that wouldn’t actually serve to stimulate anything but resentment and subversion.
Instead, use these questions to help you see what conversations have been missing, that could help unlock the creative potential of the people around you, and free up their ability to express their own thoughts and ideas.
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With an interest in creativity, I like your question #1 very much. It’s a good idea to engage employees and to stimulate them for ideas.
BTW, I share some of the stuff that you write here in conversations with my husband. He runs a small business with employees whom he hopes to motivate.
Thanks for sharing!
Evelyn
Asking your third question is very powerful. I enjoy asking it of myself. Avoidance like a plumbing leak always worsens a situation when we get around to addressing it.