Earlier this year, I wrote about why negativity is so widespread in some organizations, based primarily on my experiences in my leadership development practice. I must have touched a raw nerve because that post triggered a flood of emails from folks asking for advice on HOW to deal with all this negativity. So I promised that I would offer specific tips on the HOW every so often here on my blog. I’ve already told you about how feeding the grapevine is one way to overcome negativity, but being inclusive when you communicate is another.
Being inclusive when you communicate means giving people the same information at the same time, and not certain people first and others later. Now most leaders don’t go against this intentionally, it’s just one of those things that happens … But when you give different information to different people at different points in time, it just gives more fodder for the gossip mill, and inadvertently you contribute to the negativity. So being inclusive when you communicate is more a matter of just being aware of what you say and when you say it. Consciously seek to be more inclusive and you’ll see a positive impact on the negativity!
Have you seen any great examples in action? Do share.
2 Comments
It is so important to be inclusive in communication. I think a lot of managers hide information to protect employees, but in the end, it only fuels the grapevine fires.
You’re so right Deborah. It’s ironic that the managers have good intentions, but they actually end up making things worse. I think sometimes managers underestimate other people’s capacity for dealing with the truth!