Page 43 - Becoming a Successful Manager

34 KNOWING THE TERRITORY

The greater the distance between you and your staff, the
greater the probability for error. When you are face-to-face you
have immediate and varied feedback. All the physical cues are
present in real time: eye contact, gestures, posture, volume, pac-
ing, and so on. And your entire team can be physically present.
When you move into mediated communication, however, you’ll
experience both benefi ts and limitations. Here are just a few
examples.

Option Benefi ts Limitations

Phone no travel or downtime only voice
conferences immediate feedback sometimes time
and response delay

Voice mail like phone conference, delayed response
but no feedback

Web no travel or downtime sometimes poor visual
conference easy to show quality, time delay,
material “jumpy” pictures

E-mail instant, worldwide limited to print
low cost material, subject
to writing ability

Text instant limited number of
messaging characters per
message

Evaluate your options and choose what is best for your situa-
tion. It may not be the cheapest or fastest method; it’s the one that
gets your message heard and understood.