{"id":1695,"date":"2019-01-31T05:12:02","date_gmt":"2019-01-31T05:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dynamicteamsolutions.org\/?p=1695"},"modified":"2019-01-31T05:12:02","modified_gmt":"2019-01-31T05:12:02","slug":"unraveling-the-mystery-of-miscommunication","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/2019\/01\/31\/unraveling-the-mystery-of-miscommunication\/","title":{"rendered":"Unraveling the Mystery of Miscommunication"},"content":{"rendered":"

Communication always comes with a level of messiness and ambiguity. Even with the best of intentions and clearest of communication we can portray mixed messages, leading to misunderstandings or conflict. Add to that the array of communication platforms we deal with: meetings, email, G-chat, passing remarks in the hall, phone calls. The opportunity for miscommunications is introduced almost all hours of the workday.<\/p>\n

\"\"These miscommunications are at the root of distrust, misled beliefs, and conflict, especially in a corporate culture. \u00a0While managing these issues may feel tedious, the long-term effects of glazing over unclear communication can be detrimental to employees\u2014and the company as a whole. I wrote about a personal experience of this<\/a> that occurred not at work but with my daughter.\u00a0 It highlighted the value of clarifying intentions.<\/p>\n

The fast story is that my then-6-year-old daughter had drawn a precious picture of a blue dog, and then she heard me say I didn\u2019t like Blue Dog. Little did she know (and how could she?), I was talking about a restaurant named Blue Dog I wasn\u2019t fond of, not her piece of art. She carried what she heard with her for two weeks before she felt enough courage to ask me about it, and we quickly resolved the misunderstanding.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t so far off from what can happen at work, is it? Someone says something we take to mean they are upset with us or disappointed in our work, performance, or attitude. Or, perhaps, it\u2019s the off-color wording of an email, a quick hang-up during a phone call, or what feels like a dismissive lack of eye contact.<\/p>\n

Before we know it, we\u2019ve crafted an entire story about one interaction. He thinks I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m doing<\/em>, or She thinks all millennials are below her<\/em>. This snap judgment festers, sourly affecting our mood, energy, productivity, and many other interactions throughout the day. Worse still, we may even use this information to expand our belief about the other person, swelling the problem.<\/p>\n

Bren\u00e9 Brown puts it like this in her book, Dare to Lead<\/a><\/em>: Our default when we are in the midst of struggle and lack data is to make up a story that makes sense of what\u2019s happening. This way of creating our own (often false) information allows us to self-protect. The natural confabulation of events that occurs is harmful to our own psyche, as well as to everyone around us.<\/p>\n

The truth is that, yes, it can be easy to misconstrue what someone says or does.\u00a0 But assuming and jumping to conclusions does nothing to resolve it. The key to maintaining a healthy work environment is staying in a place of curiosity. When something doesn\u2019t seem right or fair, when you feel wronged, take steps to learn more.\u00a0 Ask questions, listen earnestly, and leave space for honest explanation. Believe that most people come into situations with good intentions; be understanding that sometimes our friends and colleagues have \u201coff\u201d days.<\/p>\n

So much good can even come from a simple, \u201cWould you mind telling me what you meant by that?\u201d Not in an accusatory way, but from a place of wanting to understand where someone else is coming from, and really hearing and understanding them.<\/p>\n

Those who lean into the messiness and uncertainty of communication often find the most success and build the healthiest work environments. It\u2019s not easy to be bold by calmly addressing miscommunications, but the reward is certainly worth it. After all, no one ever said you\u2019d get anywhere incredible by sticking to your comfort zone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Communication always comes with a level of messiness and ambiguity. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1695"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.dynamicteamsolutions.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}