Introduction:
Are you frustrated by constant conflicts and compromises in your workplace due to futile misunderstandings? Do you want to get on fire like a horse? Here is all you need to know about managerial communication skills.
Definition:
Managerial communication is a skill used to effectively convey your instructions, procedures, expectations, or suggestions in a clear and concise way and clarify all the doubts or questions in order to get maximum and productive output from the employees working under your supervision on any particular ongoing project.
What is Managerial Communication?
A smooth flow of information between different managers and between a manager and his/her employees working in a particular direction to achieve the same goal is called managerial communication. This ensures minimal errors, reduced conflicts, and more efficiency. Good managerial communication involves the employee interpreting the message in the desired form and working in the given direction. Inculcating good managerial communication skills ensures the whole team knows what the higher – ups are expecting out of them.
Let’s understand the various types, ways, and flows of managerial communication. This will increase your knowledge and definitely bring down your workplace misinterpretations.
What are the various ways of managerial communication?
Communication itself can be of various types. Managerial Communication not only includes verbal communication but also involves other elements like physical reactions, hand movements, and communication through written statements. You need to keep all these elements in mind in order to effectively communicate with other colleagues. Let’s know more about these types.
Verbal communication
Managerial communication, which occurs verbally, does not have any written records. A careful selection of words is really crucial. Expectations and instructions can be communicated via managerial communication skills in a very clear and concise way. This skill of managerial communication allows you to answer all the questions regarding the given instructions and provide relevant feedback. A manager should also practise good listening skills in order to maintain a good two way communication. Back and forth communication should also include a good understanding of messages and their correct interpretation.
Communication through body language
How a person speaks matters a lot more than what a person speaks. Body language helps you to rapport with employees and build a healthy working environment. A correct indication of approval or refusal must be conveyed with good facial expression. Maintaining eye contact is another important part of managerial communication through body language. This builds a more trustworthy relationship between managers and employees. Body language is also useful for barriers of cultural differences. Employees who are not really comfortable with common language perceive the messages more with body language. Therefore this is also a very crucial managerial communication skill to have.
Written communication
Sharing knowledge and information to the employees in a written statement is the most effective way of managerial communication. All the complicated instructions which are difficult to be conveyed verbally can be sent with a written record. This allows the employees to refer to the written communication in case of a lengthy instruction. Written managerial communication also holds good in case of exchange of information between different organisations. Written statements have more credibility than verbal managerial communication.
Also Read: Team Meetings for First Time Managers
What are the different types of managerial communication?
There are 2 types of managerial communication that occur in the workplace. Both of them are crucial to understand in order to evaluate the interpretation of a given message.
Interpersonal communications:
interpersonal relationships are more likely to be informal conversations between you and your employees . A good interpersonal communication may involve good eye-contact and dialogues. This not only builds a good working relationship but also helps to build more trust between the colleagues.
Better interpersonal managerial communications also allow for more diverse inputs and suggestions. There is immense scope of future collaborations at different levels if all the interpersonal communications take the desired path. These communications also help you to identify various issues and conflicts within the working environment which allows you to resolve them without getting into any unhealthy situation. Interpersonal communication encourages more respect and cooperation between peers and leaders. Therefore, it is a great way of bonding in your workplace.
Organizational communications:
these managerial communication skills are mandatory. Organizational communication involves flow of instruction between different team leaders of different organizations. This kind of formal or informal communication can run smoothly through emails, social media platforms, memos, or face-to-face. This kind of managerial communication allows the whole organization to run smoothly in a particular direction.
Organizational managerial communication is the best way to keep everyone on the same page. Flow of inputs, suggestions, instructions, orders or procedures should be clarified beforehand in order to avoid all the misinterpretations and conflicts. Organizational managerial communication is also effective in boosting employee morale and eventually connecting with them. Organizational communications should be open to all and most importantly honest in nature. This will allow you to inculcate all the innovative thoughts and ideas provided to you by various employees making them feel more comfortable and included in the team.
What are the different directions of managerial communication flow?
Upward flow of communications:
Flow of communication from employees to higher- ups is referred to as upward flow of communication. This includes you answering to your boss and clarifying all his doubts. This has to be the most formal managerial communication. Upward communication involves the employees reporting to their team leaders with reports on ongoing projects. This can be explained with the help of an example. Suppose a manager has to submit reports on projects completed by his employees. This manager has to have really good managerial communication skills in order to convince the superiors that his employees did a great job and completed all the projects with great efficiency. This will help him as well as his employees during the promotion period.
Downward flow of communication:
Flow of communication from your level to the employees working under your supervision is called downward flow of communication. This can include you giving a summary for a new project, asking for updates on the ongoing projects or giving suggestions for the submitted projects. Honest and clarified downward managerial communication allows the employee to have a clear idea of your expectations. For instance, a manager has to give instructions on a certain project. He has to convey all the instructions in brief without leaving any important information. This can only happen if the manager has good communication skills. Otherwise, employees will lack clarity resulting in bad performance.
Lateral flow of communication:
Flow of communication between individuals working in similar positions is referred to as lateral flow of communication. This kind of communication is required for smooth functioning of different teams working to achieve a particular goal. For example, the end goal of a company is to make an innovative and informative video. For this to happen successfully, all the teams should communicate well. The content writing team should give correct information to the video creating team. Therefore, the content writing team should have good written communication skills.
The video creating team should hand over all the relevant clips to the video editing team and correctly explain the orders of those clips. Therefore, a video creating team should have appreciable verbal communication skills. The editing team can work and make the final product come true only if all the employees working in the team communicate well. Therefore, lateral communication between both managers and employees is equally important.
Examples of communication barriers and how to resolve them efficiently:
Managerial communication can have several barriers which are to be kept in mind in order to use the correct type of communication to convey your message.
These barriers include:
Lack of common language:
employees come from different parts of the world with different mother tongues. This may lead to differences in communicating language. This can be resolved with a good written managerial communication skill or an expressive body language while talking.
Different levels of education:
many employees are highly educated and understand all the technical terms while others are more skill based and lack the proper knowledge of these terms. Manager has to have a good understanding with appreciable verbal communication skills in order to find a common ground.
Difference in the personalities:
some employees may be very introverted and prefer not to communicate verbally to give their inputs. This barrier can be avoided with a good written managerial communication. This will help everyone to give their suggestions and improve the on-going projects.
Generation gaps:
generation gaps can also lead to difficulties in desired flow of communications. Some of the senior citizens might not be able to interpret instructions from someone much younger than them. This can be avoided by amalgamation of good verbal and written managerial communication. This is a general problem with a very simple solution.
Also Read: Different Types of Managers and Management Styles in an Organization
Tips for an effective managerial communication:
Managerial communication is the most important and efficient way to form a good and trustworthy team which will have your back in difficult situations. Here are the tips in order to form a close bonded team.
- Always schedule a meeting in the morning to discuss the progress of all the employees on the given projects.
- Walk up to their cabins at least thrice a day. This will allow your employees to clarify all their doubts making them more productive.
- Be a good listener. Listen to all the problems faced by your employees and find a way out. Solving their problems will definitely increase your credibility from your employee’s point of view.
- Work as a team. Don’t throw all your work at them or set any unrealistic deadlines. Instead, help them with their projects and encourage them to do good work.
- Do not terminate the conversation just after you give them instructions. Instead, ask them if they actually understood the procedures.
- Do not communicate in a noisy place. This will definitely lead to misunderstandings resulting in further misinterpretations.
- Ask your employees about more inputs and suggestions if they hesitate to give any. This will make them feel more inclusive and heard.
Conclusion:
Effective managerial communication is all you need in order to build a successful, well bonded team. This not only helps you to get through difficult situations but also allows you to gain more knowledge about the subject you are working on. The employees under you will actually appreciate you as a boss rather than gossiping about you behind your back. This will help you be a better manager and a better person. Therefore, it is correct to say “good communication is the bridge between confusion and clarity”
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
A smooth flow of information between different managers or between a manager and his/her employees working in a particular direction to achieve the same goal is called managerial communication.
Effective managerial communication helps to foster understanding, reduces misunderstandings, and enhances collaboration among team members. It also ensures that organizational goals and objectives are clearly communicated, leading to improved productivity and a positive work environment.
Managerial communication can be broadly classified into formal and informal communication. Formal communication includes official memos, emails, reports, and meetings while the informal one comprises casual conversations and social interactions occurring outside formal channels.
Examples include clear and concise instructions during team meetings, constructive feedback provided to employees, and active listening during one-on-one interactions to better understand employees’ concerns and ideas.
Managers can improve their communication skills by actively listening to their employees, being clear and concise in their messages and adapting their communication style to the audience among other things.
Non-verbal communication which includes body language, facial expressions, gestures, and tone of voice, can convey emotions, intentions, and attitudes. Managers should be aware of these non-verbal cues, as they greatly influence how their messages are perceived by others, impacting the overall effectiveness of communication.
