The Rebellion of Communication

Growing up I can remember the saying that “Children should be seen and not heard”. The origin of this dates to the 15th century and literally means that children should not speak unless spoken to or asked a question while in the presence of adults. This was alluding to the lack of comprehension of a child to understand what adults were talking about. It could be said that most parents do not say this to their children but do follow this old proverb. When financial or parental matters and decisions are being made, the children would most likely not be giving advice on how to handle the situation.

Fast forward to today’s society and the kids have rebelled and have demanded open communication. The best open communication definition alludes to the freedom of sharing thoughts and contributing to the decision-making process. When organizations empower their employees to be open with their ideas and thoughts and the exchange of ideas, it creates this sense of freedom to express one’s ideas. This in turn inspires others to creativity and success. Managers and leaders need to encourage their teams to speak up and share ideas. The best solutions will come out as people become confident that they can be heard and not criticized. Leaders should do everything, they can, to promote this type of open communication.

Winston Churchill said, “The difference between mere management and leadership is communication.” To promote open communication, be sure to have regular informal meetings, have an open-door policy, share the company’s performance. Now the hard one, create an atmosphere to where there is no need to have anonymous feedback. At this point, there is real freedom to express thoughts without being told to be silent or have the fear of retribution. Leaders need to be proficient in the art of listening. Richard Branson states, “Lead by listening – to be a good leader you have to be a great listener.” To make this company the best, REBEL against the closed-door meeting, the need-to-know crowd, the silos group, and the be quite or else group. Be open to input other than your own. Encourage people to speak up and be heard, listen to what people are saying and do something about it. Then, this will become the best place to do business with and the best place to work for.