The Communication 50 Percent Rule

In Tough Management: The 7 Ways to Make Tough Decisions Easier, Deliver the Numbers, and Grow Business in Good Times and Bad (New York:  McGraw Hill, 2005), author Chuck Martin offers this insight on the communication of executives:

"With so much on the plate of every executive and manager, it is challenging to take the appropriate amount of time to communicate effectively.  Communication traditionally has been viewed as communication from the one doing the communication to the one receiving the communication.  Therein lies the fundamental problem in today's work world.  Rather than comprehensive interaction between boss and subordinate, there often is a dictate from the superior, which from that person's point of view, is a totally proper message.  The irony is that the recipient often is closer to the subject about which the superior is making the decision...

"These communications can be shortsighted, temporarily solving an immediate problem while missing an opportunity to involve the recipient in the decision process.  

"When resolving an issue or problem, executives and managers should adhere to what I call the '50 percent rule.'  This means that more than half of the communication from the superior should involve listening, not talking."

For more ideas on leadership in the ECE world, check out the Exchange Articles on CD collection, "Staff Supervision," at: https://secure.ccie.com/catalog/cciecatalog.php?cPath=54

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