Harvard Business Publishing

"No time to talk". An unfortunate variant of the 'say it once' self-deception is putting something in an email or on an intranet site and believing that is communication.

Misinterpretation of the term leader.Many think that its only the leader whose decision is to be followed.But, practically its the collection of all ideas of a group in which leader is also a unit and those ideas get clubed into a single decision.The leader represents the decision in the required place.But because of such misinterpretation, those people who feel their ideas to be unique and profitable ,do not really communicate their idea even to others as they feel that the leader would get appreciated for their ideas.It is purely misunderstanding of a working hieranchy.In the same way , a leader or manager should work with a feeling of team spirit and never talk commandingly unless it is badly required to meet the mission of the organisation.Superior-Sub ordinate relation should be worked out properly to ensure a smooth flow of communication.

Internal Collaboration and developing interdependent divisions within an Organizational structure are two methods of delivering consistently excellent results. If we allow ourselves and our Staff to become independent and Organizationally isolated, we will lose on the outputs and outcomes side of the balance sheet.

My point: develop infrastructure around internal collaboration and interdependence. Develop multi-team Communities of Practice. Launch joint training initiatives. Make policy changes. The benefits FAR outweigh the costs.

brainsotrming is also one of the keys why there are some problems in the organization that are solved instantly. Its a one way of letting the members of the team express and share their ideas or opinions relative to issues the management faced in any given time.

Incorporation of ideas and views from different levels in the organization through brainsotrming is still effective most specially the voice coming from the lower level.

However there are some cases wherein the top management's views and opinions are still being followed.

I think one of the most common reasons for failure to communicate has been missed. I know a lot of time information is not shared because of fear and anger. I think this is especially true in the quality field where notification of problems and non-conformances is a regular part of the job. Employees afraid of an angry response will not be willing to share much.

Think with the end in mind. The first communication is one's thoughts. Other team members are resources to utilize and collaborate with, not dump things on. Team members transcend those with the same hat as one's own. The arena is bigger that one thinks.

Go forward with the above mindset and the individual and collective mindset and communication will be efficient and effective. If this doesn't work, look at one's surroundings and even in the mirror.

The crucial role for quality personnel and management is not to be sand-bagged with burden or distribute burden. It's all about being there, involved & engaged, looking forward and bringing people together.

Communication begins with thoughts, gets conveyed with words and becomes action which becomes the process. That process perpetuates quality and success for the individuals and the team...and, the bottom line.