Page 162 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

HOW DO I BUILD A POSITIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT? (EFFECTIVE WORK CULTURE OR SETTING)

When leaders ensure accountability, a positive work
environment follows because our best experiences at work
generally occur when we know we got the job done and done
well. Clear accountability coupled with support for learning
from mistakes helps empower people to succeed.

8. Attitude Toward Communication:
Reduced Versus Increased

A common finding from employee attitude surveys is that
communication rates low: employees often feel out of the
loop about ideas leaders think are well understood. A posi-
tive work environment is fostered by communication that is
redundant, two-way, and affectively charged.
Effective communication requires redundancy. When
complex or new ideas are involved, it probably takes 10
units of communication for every unit of understanding.
This means that leaders need to overcommunicate through
multiple media. A senior leader Dave worked with crafted
a detailed plan for her company. She then spent almost as
much time figuring out how to share this plan as she had
spent creating it: through formal webinars, teleconferences,
blogs, town hall meetings, training programs, compensation
programs, videos/DVDs, and staff meetings. In addition,
she shared the plan informally as she talked to employees
throughout her division. She invited employees to comment
on the direction and to commit to the actions necessary to
make it happen. At first employees were uncertain and skep-
tical about her agenda, but her consistent and redundant
communication helped them understand the plan and see
her commitment to making it work.

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