Communication

The only real tool a manager has is "communication".
Be well,
Dwika


Tip #1 for Technical Managers.
**Steven Cerri

If you are a technical manager or have been a manager for a while you know one thing for sure, and that is that you have few powerful tools at your disposal to influence your direct reports. In fact, I like to say that the only real tool a manager has is "communication".

Whether you are attempting to motivate employees to work the weekend, or you are attempting to motivate employees to get along, or you are attempting to get an employee to work more smoothly with a customer, all you have is communication. Whether you are cajoling, inspiring, or chatting; whether you are giving a disciplinary performance review or promoting a direct report, all you have is communication. If you are good at communication, my guess is that you are a good manager. If you are poor at communication, my guess is that you are a poor manager.

So to be a good manager you must be a good communicator. And by communication I don't mean the typical "listening" and "talking" skills. I'll explain.

As a manager, and as a human being for that matter, we all know what it's like when we are really having a great communication with someone else. We now what it's like to have that feeling when we are truly "connected" with another person and the other person understands us. We understand them and they understand us clearly. It happens and for some of us it happens more often than for others.

What causes this connection to take place? How do we make it happen when we want it to happen?

Scientific studies have been going on for years and the results are always the same. In fact, the information below seems to be clearly "hard wired" into our human neurology. It's part of being human.

The portion of that "connection" between people that is contributed by the words we use (i.e., the content) is approximately 7% +/- 2%.

The portion of that "connection" between people that is contributed by the voice we use (i.e., tone, speed, loudness) is approximately 35% +/- 2%.

The portion of that "connection" between people that is contributed by our physiology (i.e., body language) is approximately 58% +/- 2%.

There you have it. The connection between people has nothing (or at least very little) to do with what we say. It has to do with how we say it. That's why people can look us in the eyes and say those magical words, "Just trust me" and we don't. We don't because everything else, the voice and the body language doesn't tell us to trust them.

Therefore, the first step in improving your management performance is to understand the non-verbal communication cues that make the difference between "connecting" with your direct reports and not. The goal is to use the non-verbal communication cues to constantly and consistently enhance the connections with your direct reports that make communication most effective. Within this structure you can be assured that communication and influence and motivation will be maximized