When you need
to make important business decisions, you depend on
the quality of the information you are given. Are other
people managing your expectations, telling you what
they think you want to hear? How do you ensure that
you get an accurate view of the situation? Organisational
communications advisor Lindsay Bogaard looks at how
you can break down the barriers.
Your brain uses life experiences and commercial savvy
to process information. It draws on your personal attributes
and characteristics. It is fuelled by your motives and
your aspirations. It makes thousands of micro decisions
and some very significant decisions every day. Your
skill is making the best possible decisions and bringing
those decisions to life. But unless you do all your
research work yourself, you are completely dependent
on those around you to get the information you need.
Facts, conclusions, interpretations: the ‘softer’
those pieces of data, the more subjective they are.
Why people manipulate data
There are four reasons why people around you manipulate
data they give you, the first three are often well-intended:
1. They are protective of you
People are sympathetic creatures and if someone who
knows you well sees you’re under pressure, they’ll
try to make things better. They may not be able to find
the right time to give you difficult news. For example,
there may be decreasing popularity for a new project.
If they are protecting you, they are much more likely
to say that the “project is still catching on”,
to soften the message.
What to do: When you hear subjective statements
that may have been ‘spun’, probe for deeper
information. Ask in a calm and open way to show that
you welcome a more realistic appraisal. You could also
ask for hard data: “How many people have signed
up compared to our estimates?”
2. They find it difficult to approach you
If you are an expressive person who openly vents negative
energy, you might not be aware that you are intimidating
to others. If people regularly experience emotional
reactions when they provide you with input, they will
avoid giving you bad news.
What to do: You need to find a way of expressing
yourself without using others to soak up your feelings.
Sport, art, music and amateur dramatics are notoriously
good for this. If you get some news that provokes a
negative reaction then thank the messenger and acknowledge
how you feel. Vent those feelings later, in a suitable
way and at a suitable time.
3. They are timid
This is really their issue – they may have been
poorly managed in the past, creating a fear of authority.
There could be a whole number of issues preventing them
from pushing bad news upwards, or it could just be their
personality.
What to do: You can either try to coach them
out of it or get someone else who is courageous enough
to tell you the truth. If you choose to coach them,
tell them explicitly what you expect and why. Assure
them by reacting to information from them positively
and show consistency in this behaviour over a period
of several weeks before you re-evaluate their reliability.
4. They are manoeuvring themselves politically
People who put themselves and their careers above the
goals of their company are advantage seekers. In some
circles, where the culture has enabled people like this
to thrive, this kind of behaviour is accepted as normal
business practice. Often, people don’t even realise
they are doing it but the net effect is simply the creation
of misleading spin. “The project I’m leading
has won some great publicity”; “Our guys
have been working so hard – we’re really
breaking the back of this thing together”. They
are keenly ambitious, bold and unscrupulous. They want
to associate themselves with success to give the impression
that they deserve to be given success themselves.
What to do: Use the cornerstones of quality
management to hunt down what’s really going on.
Ensure projects have success factors identified and
measure progress against those with key performance
indicators. Focus on the data. Ask for factual updates
and transparent reporting information.
As a leader, you can trust and verify. If you give
people the freedom and space they need to pursue business
objectives, you can check on them too. Your trust won’t
be broken if you show that you’re prepared to
take responsibility for ensuring that your perception
matches reality.
The more you encourage straightforward honesty, the
more you’ll mould your team or organisation into
having a truthful reporting culture.
Lindsay Bogaard is a Saffron House Consultancy
partner specialising in organisational communication.
She believes efficient organisations are 'joined-up'
and that a joined-up environment is created by individual
behaviours which are, in turn, supported by systemic
infrastructures. She has worked inside global companies
and now advises and presents to internal communications
forums.
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