Communication Compromise

Plenty of leadership books will tell you “get out from behind your desk, do not try to lead through e-mail.” But what if e-mail is what your employees prefer?

Your staff is more likely to flourish in a healthy work environment. Communication is one important piece of that environment. Simply applying a random management technique without considering whether or not it is appropriate for your team may not work out so well.

At the same time, you cannot change your preferred style of leading every time a new person shows up. Come to think of it, the more employees you have, the more diversity you will have when it comes to how they prefer to communicate. So instead of just imposing one method or another in your search for the single best method, consider trying to find something that you and your employees can all live with. Sometimes you might adapt based on an individual’s preferences, other times you may have to work with the whole team the same way.

So, in some cases, maybe relying on e-mail is the thing to do after all. Some people work better if they are not interrupted and can deal with communication a few times a day, and so they might not be bothered by the impersonal nature of e-mail. Other employees might like the “drop in,” taking full advantage of your open door policy and expecting you to hit them up whenever you have something for them. Their need to stay on top of things, or hear things face-to-face, takes precedence over uninterrupted working time. Maybe, if they need the face-to-face but prefer to work without waiting for the next tap on the shoulder, they might want a scheduled time to check in with you regularly. And even though it might seem crazy to anyone who has ever read a Dilbert book, your employees might actually prefer regular meetings with the whole team. When there is one of you and a bunch of them, sometimes it is you who will have to adapt based on their particular needs.

When you are interviewing new employees, this is a good chance to let them know how you communicate, and see what they are most comfortable with. It gives them an idea what’s going to be expected of them and allows you to see how well they can adapt to your organization’s style, and you also learn how much you might need to adjust your own methods if you bring this person on. Maybe they will be so far off that you are not comfortable bringing them on board, though that’s pretty extreme. But make sure it’s a topic you discuss — the first step in learning how to communicate best is to communicate.