So often when things go wrong we blame a failure of communications. Communication missteps contribute to poor product launches, lousy customer service, and disgruntled shareholders. Even losing sports teams cite communication problems between players and coaches.

Most often we attribute the underlying fault of poor communications to the organization as a whole as well as to the structures and systems that support it. This may be true to a large degree, but employees - the individuals within the system - also share some of the blame. Let me cite a few types of behaviors that cause communication problems.

No time to talk. Managers are busy; they have many tasks to accomplish within a short period of time. Therefore communications, other than a quick to-do list issued once, suffices for conversation. There is no listening and very little learning. A single iteration of a message is not communications; it is an exercise in self deception.

It's my party! Successful organizations strive for transparency and inclusion. Not all managers feel that way and so they do not share information with certain people on their team. Sometimes it is because they forget; other times they simply want to hold back on information as a means of control.

Power play. Information shared or not shared can be an instrument of power. Say you discover information that will help solve a critical bottleneck in the company. You may wish to share it, but your boss refuses to allow you to do so. Why? Because the information you hold will help a political rival of his and he is loathe to help an adversary.
Conversely information about what is going wrong in a particular department can be used against that team and its manager. Information can be a potent weapon.

I'm not listening. Tune out the world and it will go away. That is an attitude that arises when senior management cascades so much information that people simply tune out. Sometimes they tune out because they do not want to change; other times they tune out because they cannot handle the overload.

Not my issue. Managers within the organization understand communication deficiencies but do not do take action to make it better. As a result, meetings continue to run longer than they should, emails continue to pile up, and people remain uninformed (despite an overload of information).

So what can you do about these problems?
" One, acknowledge that problems occur. Take responsibility for things you can change. Focus on becoming a better listener. Reduce the volume of unnecessary email you send, e.g. hold the cc button. Bottom line, be more proactive your communications.

" Two, change the communication mindset. Be available to your team and individuals to exchange ideas. Make it clear that everyone owns communication issues. Therefore everyone has a stake in keeping lines of communication open and flowing.

" Three, punch holes in silos. Initiate dialogue with individuals in different functions about issues that affect you and your team. Share information with them and ask for information in return. Keep talking.

Communication issues will be with us always but if individuals begin to exert more ownership of the problems, solutions can be found& one person and one team at a time.


[Adapted from a column first published by Harvard Business Publishing on April 21, 2008]