Clear communication is something I am highly supportive and encouraging of. As I say, I’d rather hear a hurtful truth than a pleasant lie. Basically, as I discussed in the “Tell it Like it Is” piece [http://ninasimosko.com/blog/tell-it-like-it-is/], being able to speak honestly and clearly is critical to any leader’s success, or any person’s for that matter.

Keep up the good work and encourage employees to be clear, concise and honest in their communications both to you and your clients. It goes a long way to fostering goodwill.

Between the hypocrisy and mixed messages many insecure and sometimes incompetent managers spti out, no wonder so much of our work force produces only mediocre performances. My messages in the past were mixed due to my need to be LIKED as a manager; I couldn’t make a clear message due to my fear of hurting someone’s feelings. So only my own got hurt, and my profit margin.

Now, my messages are very clear. Employee actions that are injurious to the company’s profit and reputation are addressed for what they are: poor judgement and/or delayed response or inaction. Consequences are lose of job, no pay increases, or closure of the failing unit. And I repeat myself versus hope the responsible parties got it the first time (because they rarely do!). My messages are always delivered thoughtfully and with tact, even over email or a phone call (followed up by another email just in case the short term memory became impaired).

I had a manager once that told me the classic “don’t come in here with a problem unless you have a proposed solution.” So I did. At the end of the year, I got dinged on my performance review — because I always had an answer to a problem!

The next time I had a problem, I went in and, instead of offering up a possible solution, I said I was “really lost on this one and was really looking for some advice on how to handle this situation” because my manager had such experience in this area. And got a long answer that was the same one that I thought it was — but it wasn’t my idea, it was my manager’s idea. We got along just fine after that.

It’s not what my manager said to do, but what he did. And…what a waste of time effort and angst over just not saying what you think while being open to other’s opinions.

Good post, Nina. This needs constant reminding to managers and the people that work for them.

Thanks as always for your insights Eric.

Your post reminds me of why marketing should be taken very seriously. Far too many organizations allow their brand to outpace their people. An organization is only as good as the behaviors of those same people.

No written or spoken words can make up for our actions.