‘The manager of tomorrow… will have to master system and method, will have to conceive patterns and synthesize elements into wholes, will have to formulate general concepts and to apply general principles.’
Peter Drucker (1955) The Practice of Management, Heinemann, London
This chapter deals with the following basic skills needed by managers: communicating; • report writing; • making presentations; • motivating; • coaching; • decision-making; • delegating; • facilitating; • giving feedback; • networking; • problem-solving. • 79
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Communicating
The manager’s role can be said to be 20 per cent doing and 80 per cent putting it across, that is, communicating. People recognize the need to communicate but fi nd it diffi cult. Like Schopenhauer’s hedgehogs, they want to get together, it’s only their prickles that keep them apart.
There are two forms of communication:
1. Intra-personal communication, which takes place when we converse with ourselves. We ask ourselves questions, refl ect on events and our involvement in them, consider the actions we have taken or not taken, and interpret the factors affecting the decisions we have made in different circumstances.
2. Inter-personal communication, which takes the form of conveying or exchanging infor- mation, instructions, observations or comments to and between people.
In inter-personal communications words are used that may sound or look precise, but they are not. All sorts of barriers exist between the communicator and the receiver. Unless these barri- ers are overcome, the message will be distorted or will not get through. It will fail to persuade or convince. The main barriers and methods of overcoming them are set out in Table 8.1. Methods of communicating through reports and presentations are dealt with in the next two sections of this chapter.
Table 8.1 Barriers to communication
Barriers to communication Overcoming the barriers
Hearing what we want to hear:
What we hear or understand when someone speaks to us is largely based on our own experience and background. Instead of hearing what people have told us, we hear what our minds tell us they have said.
Adjust to the world of the receiver: Try to predict the impact of what you are going to write or say on the receiver’s feelings and attitudes. Tailor the message to fi t the receiver’s vocabulary, interests and values.
Ignoring confl icting information:
We tend to ignore or reject communications that confl ict with our own beliefs. If they are not rejected, some way is found of twisting and shaping their meaning to fi t our preconceptions.
Use feedback:
Ensure that you get a message back from the receiver that tells you how much has been understood.
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Barriers to communication Overcoming the barriers
Perceptions about the communicator: It is diffi cult to separate what we hear from our feelings about the person who says it. Non-existent motives may be ascribed to the communicator. If we like people we are more likely to accept what they say – whether it is right or wrong – than if we dislike them.
Use face-to-face communication: Whenever possible talk to people rather than write to them. That is how you get feedback. You can adjust or change your message according to reactions. You can also deliver it in a more human and understand- ing way – this can help to overcome preju- dices. Verbal criticism can often be given in a more constructive manner than a written reproof, which always seems to be harsher. Infl uence of the group:
The group with which we identify infl uences our attitudes and feelings. What a group hears depends on its interests. People are more likely to listen to their colleagues, who share their experiences (their reference group), than to outsiders such as managers.
Involve the group:
Get the group involved in the discussion so that feelings can be brought out into the open.
Words mean different things to different people:
Essentially language is a method of using symbols to represent facts and feelings. Strictly speaking, we can’t convey meaning, all we can do is to convey words. Do not assume that because something has a certain meaning to you, it will convey the same meaning to someone else.
Use direct, simple language:
This seems obvious. But many people clutter up what they say with jargon, long words and elaborate sentences.
Emotions:
Our emotions colour our ability to convey or to receive the true message.
Control emotion:
Try to make your communication as unemotional as possible. Appeal to reason. Non-verbal communication:
When we try to understand the meaning of what people say we listen to the words, but we also use other clues that convey meaning. We attend not only to what people say but to how they say it. We form impressions from what is called body language.
Understand the role of non-verbal communication:
Remember that your body language may affect listeners.
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Barriers to communication Overcoming the barriers
Misinterpretation:
People can easily misinterpret information for any of the reasons given above.
Get it across:
Reinforce written communications with the spoken word. Conversely, an oral briefi ng should be reinforced in writing.
Size:
The larger and more complex the organiza- tion, the greater the problem of
communication.
Reduce problems of size:
Go direst to those who need to get the message.