Page 103 - Becoming a Successful Manager

94 ESTABLISHING A SOLID DEPARTMENTAL FOUNDATION

If you’re really listening, you’ll hear the hidden message in each
of these remarks, as well as others you may encounter daily, and
acknowledge them. When you do hear such comments from your
employees, ask the speakers what they really mean and if they can
suggest some ways to make positive changes. An acknowledgment
says, in effect, “I hear what you’re really saying, and I invite you to
elaborate.” Invitation to collaborate in the solutions of any kind,
including how to most effectively relay messages and information,
establishes productive guidelines for all parties involved.
In response to the fi rst question, for example, you would
acknowledge the hidden message by asking if the employee felt
there were too many departmental meetings, if he or she felt some
of these meetings were unproductive, and what might be done to
improve the situation.
Your acknowledgment in turn conveys at least three messages
to your employee. First, it recognizes that the employee isn’t cat-
egorically objecting to the meetings but believes that their content
and productivity don’t necessitate as many meetings as are actu-

ally held. Second, it reflects your understanding that the employee
wants to be asked what prompted the comment. And third, it
affi rms that you care enough about what the employee thinks to
ask for his or her opinions on how to make the department more
productive.
In the second statement cited—You’re in charge; I’ll do it the way
you want—the hidden message may be that the speaker doesn’t
approve of the method or process of a particular activity. The
employee may be too shy to offer his or her opinion and is instead
inviting you to solicit it.
By acknowledging the underlying message and asking how the
speaker might conduct the process differently, you convey that you
are sensitive to the person’s thoughts and insights and that you
consider the person a valuable member of your department. As