Organizational

Every organization you come into contact with in your role has its own ethos and set of acceptable behaviors. To be a successful communicator you need to understand the beliefs and values of your own organization. You will be able to identify in your senior management the sort of behavior that is deemed appropriate for the organization.

These behaviors will determine the type of environment your organizational communications occur in. Is it one of openness and trust, or is it one of guardedness and blame? Whatever atmosphere your day-to-day activities occur in, you will need to adapt your style and signals to best suit the environment.

Often within organizations confusion and obstacles to communication result from poor definition of individual roles within the structure and of their working relationships and interactions. How many times have you found several people believing that a task is the responsibility of someone else? Rather than take the trouble to ensure someone accepts ownership, some people will simply sweep the task under the carpet on the assumption that someone else will perform it! This does not bode well for success.

Many organizations’ communication problems can be directly attributed to poor operational skills. This can be caused by a lack of procedures that help define and structure communications. Or it can be the result of little or no understanding of other operations within the organization or its external suppliers.

Without this level of appreciation and comprehension unrealistic demands can be placed on others. This confusion and misinterpretation can be avoided be taking the time to learn about other departments and external bodies and listen to what they say in response to your communication.

Organizational barriers can also occur if you use an inappropriate communication tool to send your message. Is the sending of an email or text an appropriate way to inform someone of a major disruption to service that will have serious financial implications if not addressed immediately? No, it is not. A personal call or going to the office of the senior executive will portray the correct level of urgency and importance for such a message.

Selecting the best communication tool to send your message is an essential component of excellent communication skills. Much of this comes from experience and observing how senior management and personnel in external organizations communicate their messages.