The Supervisors 14 Essential Truths For Communicating With Direct Reports



Learn Management Articles on management-info.biz. The Supervisors 14 Essential Truths For Communicating With Direct Reports article will help answer your questions on Management Articles.We at management-info.biz specialize in Management Articles. Management Articles at management-info.biz provides the most up to date news and articles. If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

One amazing, but sadly true, fact of today's advances in communication tools is that we really don't communicate much better than in the past.

Indeed one recent study determined the number one advancement in communication tools was the availability of cheap on-line airfares.

The airline trip was needed to clarify some earlier communication sent out electronically!

Therefore a Manager/Supervisor must be able to clearly communicate to his/her direct reports in an effective manner.

The following are 14 essential truths you must understand in order to improve your communication skills.

1. Focus--When someone is talking to you, STOP what you are doing and thinking. Face the person talking, devote 100% of you attention to both the person speaking and to what is being said.

2. Listen--Don't just "hear" the words being spoken. Listen to what and how the statements are being said. Observe body signals and facial expressions.

3. Attention--Don’t let your mind wander. Let the person finish what they are saying, then take a few seconds to think about what your response will be.

4. Paraphrase--When the person is finished speaking repeat back in your own words what you heard. Ask the person if you have an understanding of what they said.

5. Empathy--Be aware of the other person's needs. Everybody has different needs, wants and desires. Be cautious about substituting your needs for theirs.

6. Ask--Don’t tell. Telling quickly gets the other person on the defensive. Save your comments and guidance until you totally understand the question and the situation.

7. Be Open. --Don't criticize, pass judgement or preach. Make objective conclusions about alternate ideas, people and situations. Be careful of attaching or offering your values too quickly, if at all.

8. Advise--Watch the temptation to "give" advice. Only "offer" advice. It's always better to say something like "I suggest we…" and not "Here's what you need to do".

9. Trust--Is what open and honest communication is all about. Without trust teams can't function properly, people will loose respect for each other. Without trust you are building a house of cards that will eventually tumble down. With trust teamwork and cooperation are much easier to achieve.

10. Equity--Both parties must feel equal. While at first reading this may seem an unusual requirement in the Supervisor and Direct Report relationship. However even in this situation the relationship should be equal on the personal level. By using equality in speaking, you avoid the dreaded condescending speech.

11. Comfort--While stress and tension may be surrounding the conversation learn to be comfortable with yourself and the message you are about to deliver.

12. Interest--Strive to have a genuine interest in others. Everyone has a story to tell and most of the time it is an interesting one! Talk in terms of what the other person is interested in. The familiar quote of "In order to be understood, we must first seek to understand others" is very true. Practice it.

13. Motivate--Always be looking for ways to motivate others. Use positive reinforcement often. Look for ways to offer praise and recognition.

14. Humor--Take life seriously, not yourself. Life is too short to go without a constant stream of humor. Look for it.

© 2004 TrainingConnections.ORG, All rights reserved



123 Astrology. - offers birth (natal) astrology/horoscope charts and Astrology For Lovers compatibility/relationship reports.
Federal Grants! - Free Government Money! - FederalGrantSource.com free government money, business grants and cash grants directory. We guarantee results!



Article Index: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81


More Articles:


1. Make The Decision To Succeed By Anthony McCune
Communication is faster and access to information is more readily available today than it has ever been. Ease of communication will increase. The ability to obtain the information you need will improve. On the other hand, the amount of time you have to make a decision that will benefit or harm the success of your endeavor will decrease.If you have something good to offer, you must let the people who need it know about it. The step you take or choose not to take today will have ramifications fo…
Myspace Comments

2. Argue Your Way To Business Success By Rob Waite
"Jack" (not his real name) is a vice president of a publicly traded company. Recently, Jack’s stress and anxiety levels have been high enough to impact both his working and his personal lives. (I'm using an alias because he’s concerned about his story becoming public … for good reason!)What, exactly is Jack stressed out about? It's not just another case of burnout and he's not worried about losing his job. Rather, Jack is convinced that his company is adopting the wrong strategy. And he's not …

3. Three Tips to Kick-start Your Management Career By Dakota Caudilla
Going from employee to manager is like taking a quantum leap. Sometimes it's the most natural way to proceed forward, other times it takes time, patience and a good deal of planning.Tip No. 1: Look forward.There are many opportunities available to you, but you may not be able to see them. That's because opportunities normally aren't there unless you manufacture them. If you want to move into management you'll have to understand how you can better contribute to a company in a management role. K…

4. Employees - Treat them the way they Expect to be Treated
When you have to deal with one of your team who'scomplaining to you, rather than allowing your negativeprogrammes to take over, get your thinking part in gear andtry to see the situation the way they see it. You don'tnecessarily have to agree with them but perhaps you canempathise with their point of view.The successful manager thinks about the people they have todeal with, is sensitive to how they see things and knowsthat they might think differently than they do. Let me give you an example:I'v…