I’ve been out on the road for a few days, so the postings slowed down a bit.  Back in the office part of this week and a lot of thoughts and ideas to offer on a variety of topics.  Full disclosure for today’s posting on communications…I market and deliver workshops that address team communication issues.  However, no sales pitch.  Just some observations about management team communications that might help you improve performance.   

 My top 5 observations and gross generalizations on management team communications:

  1. Many managers are uncomfortable providing feedback to their peers.  Whether it’s because they have to work with each other on a day-to-day basis or they are sensitive to office politics, it is more common than not that managers avoid engaging their peers in tough discussions on controversial issues.  Those controversial issues are usually the ones that if addressed will solve a problem or spur growth. 
  2. There is often a "collegial" atmosphere that pervades the management team culture and meetings, and breaking out of this mode to challenge on tough issues is not part of the culture.  As a result, there is a lot of sugar-coating that goes on regarding the real performance issues. 
  3. Many managers that indicate that they are generally comfortable talking about the tough issues with their peers tend to identify "lack of time" as a reason why they don’t engage in the discussions.
  4. If the right issues are not getting talked about, it’s usually because the senior leader has not set the tone for what Charan and Bossidy describe as robust dialog. 
  5. Overall, the ability of a management team to engage in effective constructive and corrective dialog is a function of trust.  More often than not, the appropriate level of trust has not been  created to ensure that individuals are comfortable engaging on the tough stuff.
  6. Many team performance problems are communication problems.  Fix the communication and you fix the performance issue.

Suggestions for improving manager-to-manager communications:

  • If you are the leader, you need to set the example.  Increase the visibility of problem areas or challenging situations.  Encourage frank discussion, cut-through the usual sugar-coated answers and ask for input.  Don’t be judgmental in your comments and encourage team-members to build on the ideas of their peers.  You can’t flip a switch on your team culture overnight, but you can change the culture if you work on improving the working environment step by step.
  • If you are on a team that has some of the symptoms outlined in the "Top 5" above, start by carving out time for one-on-one and small group meetings with your peers.  Keep your discussion focused on business issues, emphasize the benefits to your organization of solving the issue and set an action plan and follow-up meeting.  Showcase progress in team meetings and spread the credit liberally to your peers. 
  • Get over the "I don’t have time" excuse.  It’s lame.  Of course you have time, it’s what you are supposed to do.  Walk away from some of the "urgent unimportant" items on your agenda. 
  • Give your peers reason to trust you and show your trust in them.  Ask for advice, invite them to meet with your team members. 

The Takeaway:

There are no silver bullets in life or in business, but effective communication between managers is pretty close to being one.  Being a member of a management team might feel like being part of a club and perhaps that’s why formerly vocal individuals suddenly go mute on the big issues once they are members. Take the time to gauge how effective you and your peers or your managers are at communicating with each other and if it sounds and feels a bit too much like dinner conversation at the country club, open up the dialog.