Tuesday, October 25, 2011

REVERSIBLE COMMUNICATION FAILURE

"While the rest of the world has been improving technology, Ghana has been improving the quality of man's humanity to man." ~Maya Angelou

"It's not a faith in technology. It's faith in people." ~Steve Jobs



I certainly embrace the efficiencies we have gained to communicate and transact globally using the bounty of technology that has emerged over the past two decades. But even Steve Jobs knew that technology was the tool to aid humanity, not to replace humanity.


Unfortunately, I attribute the degradation of communication style to a collective over-reliance upon technology tools that allow for the decrease in face-to-face communication. It is not mandatory that we decrease our face-to-face communication, but if we allow ourselves to hide behind our smart phones as we walk down the sidewalk, we may come to believe that we are being productive.


But, as with any muscle that we fail to use to its capacity, gradual entropy of communication style, the ability to interpret body language, grace, tone, etc.result direct. This decline in style and skill has led to a lowest-common-denominator commoditization of communication in cyberspace, which when exercised in person is often stunted at best.


Skip Weisman, a fellow member of The Leadership Trust recently posted an insightful article that brought the topic of Ineffective Workplace Communication to the fore. Much like the management-by-walking-around movement got us out of our offices and back onto the plant floors and into the work spaces of our teams, so too must we now look up from our smart phones and tablets, set them down, and engage our colleagues in an authentic, in-person manner to redevelop the skills that our forebears exercised well and effectively.


This communication breakdown is occurring on two levels: (1) our own behavior; and (2) the behavior of those we interact with.

I'm the worst offender...I had to come to terms with my own behavior. Now, while I hadn't exactly crossed over to the realm of believing that "my friends live in it," I had found myself walking down the street--even crossing the street--checking email, etc. I would sit in meetings and check incoming messages as they appeared, which is often every five minutes or less. As colleagues, friends and family would bring it to my attention, I'd laugh the observations off with a "hey, this is how we do it" smile and shoulder shrug.

Because I do speak publicly and meet with others so frequently, I wasn't experiencing the entropy of interpersonal communication, nor was I pulling out my smart phone in the midst of delivering seminars. But I certainly was allowing technological interconnectedness to come into conference rooms and restaurants beyond what I would characterize as good form. So, I took personal responsibility for it and decreased (not eliminated) my own personal offenses. Heck, if our nation's forebearers were able to found the United States, establish international trade treaties, and usher in the industrial revolution with free market civility--all without 24/7 texting and email-- then I became convinced that I'd survive without my face glued to my handheld device.

Regarding those with whom we interact, we can certainly gently remind them that eye contact is still in vogue, but truly once we take control of our own behavior, we can then restore enough sanity from our end to restore and strengthen traditional face-to-face dialogue. This is where it gets really interesting.

The more that I observe the degradation of communication in individuals who recede into the relative non-verbal safety of their tablets and smart phones, the more that I realize the crutch that these devices represent to those who may always have been uncomfortable communicating verbally. While I do not expect every individual to assume a gregarious posture contrary to a more sedate nature, I have come to recognize poor communication among managers and teams as contributing to productivity decreases, turnover and heightened stress in the workplace. Either provide communication training to those individuals, or simply stop promoting them beyond their communicative capability.

Let's look at our own teams:
  • Should we be devoting more time to truly open team communication and one-on-one meetings?
  • Have we asked and accurately understood our employees' individual passions, both professional and personal?
  • Do we exercise the courage the solicit feedback from our leaders, peers and direct reports so that we may improve our communication and work style?
Like many of you, I enjoy the convenience and effectiveness that my communication technology provides, but sometimes we just have to put the darn devices down, walk around, pause, make eye contact and have an authentic conversation with the individuals around us.

Certainly, we have made some great strides during the technological revolution, but as Maya Angelou noted, we cannot cease devoting ourselves to "improving the quality of man's humanity to man."

Lead with Integrity.