As organizations grow, they become increasingly reliant on one-directional forms of communication such as memos, newsletters, and speeches. These can be quite efficient in some respects, but the complexity, nuance, and detail they are able to convey is inherently limited.
To clarify finer levels of understanding, then, conversation is needed. The ask-listen-discuss cycle of two-way communication creates a self-correcting loop that refines meaning and leads to greater degrees of shared understanding, regardless of the communication skills of the individual participants involved.
The importance clarification of this kind has can be seen in a simple exercise we have often used in our consulting work. The activity begins when one person is designated as the “leader” and the rest of the group as “employees”. The leader is given a diagram of several geometric shapes positioned in a certain arrangement and told to describe it such that the employees will be able to reproduce it.
In the first round, the leader is told not to take any questions from the group and they are told not to ask any. They are to simply adhere to their “job description” and follow the directions given by their superior.
In the second round, a new leader is told to solicit questions, listen carefully, and strive to ascertain the understanding and comfort of the group. Moreover, the employees are told that not only can they ask questions, but that they must not let the process move forward until they are fully confident that they understand what they are supposed to be doing.
Invariably, the results of the exercise’s two phases are like night and day. In the first, it is not uncommon – no matter how explicit the instructions, no matter how meticulous the details – for some participants to simply give up out of frustration (thereby becoming recalcitrant “problem employees.”) And of those who do finish, the accuracy of the drawings varies widely, as does participants’ confidence in their work.
In contrast, both confidence and accuracy are uniformly higher in the second round. Most, if not all, participants get the drawing exactly right. The mood of the room is also far more upbeat, lively, and collaborative. It is not uncommon for applause to break out when the desired arrangement is finally revealed.
In real life problem situations, leaders and supervisors often say, “I told them that,” or “It’s in the manual.” This may be true. But these sentiments misses the point that simply “telling them” without establishing an environment that not only allows but expects questions and clarification is a fully inadequate system of communication and, ultimately, a failure of leadership.