Page 24 - The Voice of Authority

Make others’ work meaningful to them.
Be able to coach others to improve their perfor-
mance.

But hold on a moment before we sing “Kumbaya.”
You’re not going to accomplish this miracle overnight—
without answering the earlier question.
What do people—your boss, your cube mate, your
kids—mean by the comment, “There’s just no communi-
cation around here!” What makes people think that oth-
ers aren’t giving them correct, clear, complete informa-
tion? Why does that perception become reality? Why do
the people in Sales not talk to the people in Customer Ser-
vice? Why does the first shift forget to tell the second shift
that Machine 286 needs cleaning before it blows up?
On the other hand, why
do people keep sending
data, graphs, slides, and e- What we’ve got here
mail, thinking they’re com- is . . . a failure to com-
municating? Why do par- municate!
ents keep talking “till they’re —Captain,
blue in the face” and never Cool Hand Luke
get their kids to tune in?
Okay, seven questions
rather than one. But they’re all linked.

Ten Reasons People Resist What You Say—
and What You Can Do about It

People typically reject what they hear for one of the fol-
lowing reasons or perceptions:

They think you’re lying or misleading them. They
don’t trust you.

12 The Voice of Authority