Communication is the foundation of business
Open communication accelerates business success. It makes collaboration easier, increasing the speed and reducing the cost of business. It is the foundation of successful teams. Unfortunately, what should be commonly practiced, rarely occurs.
Without communication, organizations self-destruct
When communication is open, honest and clear, people understand each other’s motives and intent. It fosters trust, the oxygen within your company. When people experience oxygen deprivation, hallucination occurs. It’s one of the last stages before death. They begin to see things that aren’t really there. It happens in teams before they self-destruct. Team members misinterpret a leader’s intent and motives.
Communication propels businesses forward
Communication is the oxygen of any enterprise. The faster your business grows, the faster you have to pump communication through it. I love running and the faster I run, the more oxygen I need to pump through my body. The speed of your business is determined by the speed of communication.
How open is your team’s communication?
Do they:
- Identify problems and bring them to the light?
- Share ideas freely?
- Take time to listen to team members’ concerns?
- Admit mistakes immediately and do what they can to repair the damage?
- Respond promptly to team members’ requests for more information?
- Share credit with everyone involved?
- Recognize others’ achievements publicly and proudly?
- Let others know their short-term and long-term goals for future performance?
Communication is what team members crave
When I conduct interviews with teams, a common complaint is, “We don’t have enough communication.” In fact, even in high-trust, high-performance organizations, it’s rare to meet team members who think they are getting too much communication. It’s hard to get too much of a good thing.