Module 4 Supportive Communication

The email presented from the CEO of Cerner to four hundred company managers is a very poor example of communication. In his email, he did not practice supportive communication at all. In fact, the email was one-sided, or rather, a prime example of one-way listening. He told the managers what he wanted them to hear and did not expect to hear any type of reply. He expected full compliance. His message went from being problem-oriented directly into person-oriented and, in my opinion, did not have a specific message. He states that he gave these managers the ability to create a culture of their own, however, it seems that he probably did not set the expectation of a 40-hour work week from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. everyday. In that instance, it is the CEO’s fault for not establishing proper expectations from the beginning which is a perfect example of his incongruent communication. Moreover, his email had no intention of validating the managers’ cultures, but rather, he completely invalidated their way of doing things. He described that the time at work was a problem, however, he never described how that affected the overall businesses and why it was such a problem. Instead, he went on the offensive against the managers somewhat saying that the managers cannot do their jobs. He did not take any responsibility and gave off a disowned mindset in an almost us versus them perspective. Rather than providing solid advice and mentorship, he directly went for a more evaluative approach in saying the managers were wrong rather than a descriptive and helpful approach.

Whetten & Cameron (2016) said it best when they stated that “dysfunctional communication is seldom associated with situations in which compliments are given, congratulations are made, a bonus is awarded, or other positive interactions occur” (p. 215). Whetten & Cameron (2016) later mention that the most difficult situations can included correcting problem behaviors just like in this scenario (p. 215). As leaders and managers, our job is to create a culture that is inclusive, welcoming, accepting, and productive. There is not such a stark dichotomy in these attributes of an organization that makes them impossible to coexist. In fact, Whetten & Cameron (2016) argue that when managers handle tough situations like these, they could actually do it in a manner “that fosters interpersonal growth and engenders stronger positive relationships” which is a mark of an effective manager (p. 215).

For additional research I focused mostly on bias. I have worked for a manager just like one in the scenario where he constantly griped about the parking lot being empty at 5:00 P.M. while he and myself, the mangers, were still at work. He recognized this was a trend and blamed me for not working my subordinates effectively enough and personally attacked me for my leadership style. While I believe there was some truth to what he was saying, I think he could have gone about the conversation in a more constructive manner. Like in the scenario, there was not really any mentorship which would state the problem, try to have the person in the wrong brainstorm some fixes, and, if all else fails, provide a recommendation with some coaching. In my circumstance, I feel that by supervisor had some bias against me, but, also the subordinates under me based on his previous work experiences in other jobs. He was pretty old-school and expected people to clock in and clock out, rather than focusing on job effectiveness. My philosophy was that as long as the work was getting done to a satisfactory level, then the employees could take as much or little time to complete them, within reason. So this incentivized the subordinates to work faster, harder, and better in order to get rewarded with more personal time. Nickerson (2020) writes that bias is a consequence of cognitive illusion and that “many illusions are persistent even when exposed as such by compelling evidence” (p. 333). It can often be hard as a manager to do something out of the norm, like having a completely different organizational culture, and not having bias from others pour in, particularly from the long-time employees and leadership. However, in order to create a culture that embraces supportive communication, we have to recognize that being a trailblazer can be uncomfortable and not always easy. I will apply the eight attributes of supportive communication in the following days. I will be more congruent, descriptive, problem-oriented, validating, specific, conjunctive, owned, and a supportive listener. I will take ownership and pride in what the organization does as a team and I will set clear goals, objectives, and expectations. I will focus on objective problems versus person-oriented issues, and I will ensure there is communication and feedback up, down, and within each level of the organization. I will counsel more effectively by practicing coaching using descriptive techniques over evaluative, and I will be a better listener while focusing on validating all individuals and their ideas. I will treat everyone with respect on an egalitarian level, and focus strongly on collaboration. In the next thirty days, I will be a stronger supportive communicator than I am today.

References:

Nickerson, R. S. (2020). Argumentation: The art of persuasion. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/9781108892032. https://www-cambridge-org.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/AE395B93B639124BF873349D49765918/9781108835268c10_330-344.pdf/improving_argumentation.pdf 

Whetton, D. A. & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills (9th Ed.). Pearson.