From botched tasks to derailed projects to clashes between employees, nearly everything that aggravates managers stems from a failure to communicate with people. So many critical aspects of a manager’s job—delegating, coaching, resolving conflicts, keeping workers working productively—depend on top-flight communication skills. Yet, in today’s fast-paced, high-pressure workplace, few managers place top priority on becoming a champion communicator.
“Any manager who makes the effort can excel at communication and make himself or herself more valuable to any organization in any economy,” attests Nannette Rundle Carroll, a communications specialist who has been training managers in sectors from hospitality to manufacturing for over 20 years. In THE COMMUNICATION PROBLEM SOLVER: Simple Tools and Techniques for Busy Managers (AMACOM; November 30, 2009; $18.95 Paperback), she shares her unique approach to standing out as a leader of collaboration, establishing a reputation as the person people want to work with, and delivering exceptional bottom-line results. As she demonstrates, the key to communicating like a pro is integrating a commitment to building and strengthening relationships with winning processes.
Why do workplace communication problems often seem overwhelming? As Carroll notes, it’s because managers tend to tackle the full-blown scenario—a tactic about as effective as shoving a big apple into their mouth whole. To make such problems easier to swallow, digest, and get rid of, she gives managers the tools to break them apart into small bites. Along with helping managers quickly spot signs of trouble with or between individuals on the job, she tells them just what to do and say to resolve uncomfortable situations and avert crises.
Packed with step-by-step processes and instructive stories of real people at wide-ranging companies across the United States and Canada, THE COMMUNICATION PROBLEM SOLVER offers managers a crash course in:
- Setting expectations for their direct reports with turbo-charged clarity, after getting perfectly clear about their own role and levels of authority with their boss.
- Creating a climate of courtesy and cooperation within their department by taking a little time to express interest in what interests their staff members and to show compassion.
- Asking questions—of themselves and others—to get the core information needed to sustain healthy work relationships and meet business objectives.
- Breaking the judging habit, starting by untangling convenient, demeaning labels—“slacker, lazy, bad attitude”—from the complex truths about people.
- Sharpening their listening skills to learn something valuable from every workplace conversation and promote a shared understanding of meaning, not just words.
- Delegating and coaching to motivate employees to figure out how to get a task done and take ownership of the outcome.
In addition to all of the above and more, managers will find a handy list of common people problems and action steps for handling them. A welcome guide for every manager
who wants to manage people better and avoid the prickly issues, THE COMMUNICATION PROBLEM SOLVER leads the way to enjoying the ongoing rewards of collaborative workplace relationships.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nannette Rundle Carroll is a popular speaker, management trainer, and communications consultant. She is also a top-rated faculty member with the American Management Association. She lives in Walnut Creek, California.
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