"What is it costing your organization to ignore destructive communication patterns? In the case of NASA, the cost of this problem came to world attention with the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger and the deaths of all on board.
An "O" ring with critical design flaws was targeted as the catalyst in the disaster. The deeper problem, however, lay in a corporate culture steeped in "top-down" communication. A retrospective analysis of communication patterns revealed repeated attempts by front-line staff to inform upper management of the "O" ring's potential to fail in flight. These concerns were discounted by administrators determined to launch on schedule, and the resulting "blind spot" catapulted the Challenger into history as one of the greatest tragedies of space exploration. Could better listening have saved this mission? The answer from organizational research appears to be a resounding "Yes!"
Intent on eliminating barriers to the flow of critical information, NASA subsequently initiated organization-wide communication skills training. While the importance of such training is increasingly recognized in today's business world, traditional organizational structures may perpetuate problematic top-down communication regardless of improvements in employee skills. One of the strongest inherent barriers to effective dialogue is "psychological size," or the non-physical power that a person in authority has over others in conventional systems. When a manager has power to influence wages, career success, and workplace dignity of others, employees may modify their communications in order to avoid the threat of reprisal for disagreement. The resulting "one-way communication" presents these problems:
Communication is blocked because staff members avoid saying or doing anything that might offend the more powerful figure.
Staff members defer to the leader on key decisions due to fear of reprisal for mistakes. Initiative is stifled, subordinates are underutilized and the leader is overburdened.
Staff may become resentful of the leader, who is perceived as autocratic, indifferent or inflexible. Resulting morale problems include hostility, sabotage and even violence.
Organizations can enable this costly pattern by tolerating managerial abuses of psychological size, such as:
Use of terminal statements, rendering disagreement impossible
Non-verbal behaviors creating an unapproachable manner
Use of sarcasm or punishing remarks
Elitist attitude
Intimidation with interruptions, shouting or public criticism
Privileged clothing
High-profile rewards of office, such as more desirable work-space, company automobile, preferred parking, exclusive club memberships or training in "vacation-like" settings
Socializing up
One-way evaluations, permitting managers to evaluate employees while remaining immune to reciprocal evaluation by staff.
Other behavioral patterns targeted by organizational research as detrimental to dialogue include group cohesion, manifested by a managerial "us versus them" posture when presented with employee challenges to cherished ideas. Identification with one's preferred group may lead to discounting communication from subordinates, who are perceived as unequal. In addition, an emotional attachment to projects and agendas in which there has been a substantial investment of resources may be maintained, despite compelling evidence of serious problems.
Barring the occurrence of a crisis with Challenger proportions, organizations may be able to ignore the hidden costs of "top-down" communication for long periods. During my years in the employee assistance field, I observed hidden damages first- hand through the accounts of employees whose work stress brought them to the EAP. The following story is unique for containing every costly problem in top-down culture.
A local public service organization selected its newest CEO based on a well-established track record of fund-raising. Armed with polished sales skills, the new executive promptly met expectations for generating capital, and further cemented board relations by socializing "up" with engaging behavior at meetings.
With staff however, the CEO practiced a bullying management style, replete with unreasonable assignments, screaming, public humiliations, and reprisals for disagreement. Related costs accrued rapidly in the form of plummeting productivity, increased sick days and use of medical benefits by staff experiencing symptoms of stress. Despite repeated complaints from traumatized employees and strong concerns from HR, the board ignored the problem until several people quit.
The top-down response selected by board members generated substantial additional costs without solving the problem. Reluctant to discipline one of their own and strongly attached to fund-raising prowess, the board defined the problem as "ineffectual communication between employees and management." The solution allocated thousands of dollars to a mandatory training program requiring several days of work-time from key managers. Participants experienced the solution as an ineffectual and unnecessary imposition, but were unwilling to risk the consequences of communicating this information to an administration tolerant of bullying.
As organizational research establishes the superiority of "power-with" management practices and two-way communication, progressive companies are embracing solutions that transform the workplace. High-impact interventions include:
Policy requiring a "civil code of conduct"
Corporate coaching and disciplinary action for "abuses of psychological size"
Sensitivity training to reduce "us versus them" thinking
Training in communication and active listening
Three-way evaluations to equalize employee/management power
Is your organization suffering the costs of top-down communication? Front-line employees can provide an honest response in a climate of safety, such as anonymous surveys. Help in accomplishing transformation is available through organizational consultants, corporate coaching and employee assistance programs.
Judith Humble is a Licensed Social Worker and Certified Employee Assistance Professional with 16 years experience providing mental health services, training, and constitution to the business community. Judith can be reached at (859) 576-0002, or judith_humble@yahoo.com.
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