Have you ever seen an email trail get longer and more heated over the course of a few days, only to be resolved in the first 10 minutes of an in-person meeting? Or maybe a misunderstanding from an email or instant message turned into misalignment and tangents of fruitless work? Or perhaps a text from your boss seemed condescending or rude, making you self-conscious and causing your relationship to become a bit more formal and awkward?

Digital communication has revolutionised the way the business world operates and has unlocked countless efficiencies, opportunities, and even new industries. But if any of the above scenarios sounds familiar, you’ve seen the negative impact that can come from leaning on digital and text communication channels over richer forms of communication.

Organisations are made of human beings and the relationships between them. Like modern-day tribes, the way organisations take action is by aligning and mobilising human beings, but unlike our tribal ancestors who were constantly together conveying messages with face-to-face interactions, colourful expressions and body language waving their clubs around, in the modern age we often strip back our communication to letters on a screen that are open to the receiver’s interpretation.

 In today’s dynamic business world effective communication is the cornerstone of a successful organization. While digital communication has become the norm, there is immense value in favouring richer forms of interaction, such as a stronger culture, higher employee engagement, more effective communication, and ultimately the ability to deliver more value, more efficiently.

To unlock this value we recommend taking a philosophy of “walk, talk, write” - meaning if you have a significant message for someone, walk over and talk to them if you can, if not pick up the phone and call them, and use text-based communication only as a last resort.

 

effective-communication-tips

 

Walk

The most effective way to communicate with someone is to be face to face with them in person - this is the original form of communication that our bodies and minds are designed for! You are able to see body language and facial expressions, hear tone of voice, and feel the presence of one another. There are even many studies showing that humans use olfactory communication, meaning that we receive subliminal messages from one another through smells!

When it comes to building trust, resolving conflicts, and fostering meaningful connections, face-to-face communication is unparalleled. Whenever possible, take the opportunity to walk over and talk to the person directly. Face-to-face interactions allow for immediate feedback, non-verbal cues, and a deeper understanding of the message being conveyed. This form of communication builds rapport, strengthens relationships, and promotes a sense of unity within the organization.

 

Talk

The modern day workplace has changed over the past few decades and it may not always be possible to walk over and speak to someone. In situations where face-to-face communication is not feasible, the next best option is to either use a video calling software or to pick up the phone and call them. 

Video calls provide the extra advantage of being able to see facial expressions and some body language to pick up non-verbal cues, but both forms of communication enable real-time conversations, tone of voice interpretation, and a more personal connection. Phone or video calls allow for immediate clarification, active listening, and the ability to address complex matters efficiently. By prioritizing these methods, organizations can foster meaningful dialogue and maintain a human touch in their interactions.

 

Write

While text-based communication such as instant messaging or email offers convenience and speed, it should be used sparingly. Text-based exchanges lack the richness of face-to-face or voice-based communication, often leading to misinterpretations and misunderstandings which can cause inefficiencies or even damage relationships. A good rule of thumb to follow is if you’re on the second or third paragraph of an email to someone, just walk over to them or pick up the phone!

However, there are situations where written communication is necessary, such as sharing information or documenting agreements. In such cases, it is important to be clear, concise, and considerate in your written messages to minimize any potential confusion.

 

Organisational Impact

Using this walk, talk, write approach can help an individual ensure that messages are received correctly and aid in building connections and positive relationships, but the most value comes from an entire organisation harnessing this approach. 

To encourage richer forms of communication, organisations should foster a communication culture that values personal connections and meaningful interactions over transactional text. This can be achieved by promoting open communication channels, encouraging face-to-face interactions, providing opportunities for in person collaboration such as big room planning events or hackathons, and organising teams to be cross-functional to enrich inter-departmental communication. By creating an environment that values direct communication, organizations can enhance teamwork, trust, and overall efficiency.

 

 

In the era of digital communication, it is crucial for organisations to recognise the value of richer forms of interaction. As many organisations are losing efficiency from the misalignment, confusion, and weakened relationships that can be fuelled by ineffective communication channels, modern organisations can gain a competitive advantage by fostering a culture which prioritises richer interactions.

So next time your email starts to look like “War and Peace,” just walk across the office to talk to that person or pick up the phone and call them. Or better yet, if your team has started working from home most of the time and you are seeing some friction between team members, identify a day or two per week when everyone agrees to come into the office to have team meetings and collaboration sessions.

Organisations are made of people and interactions and if each person prioritises richer communication channels, the whole system works better.

 

 

Modern leaders face a tough challenge - deliver outstanding results while nurturing a work environment that encourages innovation, collaboration, and growth. As a leader, fostering an environment of psychological safety within your team is paramount to managing this balance.

psychological safety

Understanding Psychological Safety

Psychological safety is a concept that encompasses the belief that one can speak up, share ideas, ask questions, or admit to mistakes without fearing negative consequences. It's about creating a workspace where team members feel secure in expressing their thoughts and feelings.

The term was coined by Amy Edmondson, a Harvard Business School professor, and it has since become a cornerstone of effective teamwork and organizational success. She defines it as “a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.”

Project Aristotle, an initiative at Google, sought to uncover the dynamics of successful teams and identified psychological safety as one of the key factors driving high-performing teams.

 

Key Findings of Project Aristotle

Project Aristotle analysed data from hundreds of Google teams to understand the key components that make a successful team. Among the key findings were:

  • Psychological Safety: The most crucial finding was the importance of psychological safety. Teams where members felt safe to take risks and voice their opinions were more likely to be successful. This safety allowed team members to admit to mistakes, ask questions, and share their thoughts without the fear of judgment or reprisal.
  • Dependability: Successful teams were characterized by a sense of dependability. Team members could trust each other to complete their tasks competently and on time.
  • Structure and Clarity: Teams with clearly defined goals, roles, and plans were more effective. When team members knew what was expected of them and how their work contributed to the team's goals, it fostered a sense of purpose.
  • Meaning: Successful teams found a sense of meaning and purpose in their work. They believed that their work had a positive impact and were aligned with the organization's mission.
  • Impact: Teams that felt their work made a difference in the world or in their organization were more motivated and successful. Understanding the significance of their contributions increased team members' engagement.

 

Psychological safety at Google

 

Total Motivation

These findings are well supported by Neel Doshi and Lindsay McGregor’s work from their outstanding book Primed to Perform. I highly recommend viewing this webinar we ran with Neel during lockdown. It is a game changer.

Neel and Lindsay on psychological safety

The Four Stages of Psychological Safety

The concept of psychological safety involves four stages:

  1. Inclusion: This is the first stage where individuals feel that they are part of the group and that their contributions are valued. Inclusion sets the foundation for psychological safety by creating a sense of belonging.

 

  1. Learner Safety: In this stage, team members feel comfortable asking questions, seeking feedback, and admitting mistakes without fear of ridicule or negative consequences. This is essential for fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

 

  1. Contributor Safety: Contributor safety takes psychological safety a step further by encouraging team members to actively share their ideas, opinions, and concerns. They believe their input is not only welcome but also essential for the team's success.

 

  1. Challenger Safety: The final stage, challenger safety, encourages team members to voice dissenting opinions and engage in constructive debate. Team members are not just comfortable with their ideas being heard; they actively challenge the status quo to improve processes and outcomes.

 

These four stages represent a progression toward a work environment where team members not only feel safe but are also empowered to engage fully, question assumptions, and drive innovation and growth.

 

The Six Benefits of Psychological Safety

 

  1. Elevated engagement stems from a workplace environment that fosters a sense of safety and security. This heightened engagement manifests during team meetings, problem-solving sessions, collaborative project work, and interactions with both customers and colleagues.
  1. Cultivating an inclusive organizational culture: Creating an inclusive workplace has become increasingly critical. Inclusive environments embrace diverse teams and enable all members to thrive, regardless of factors such as gender, race, ethnicity, background, or political affiliations. This fosters a dynamic, collaborative atmosphere where everyone experiences a sense of belonging and unity.
  1. Nurtures creativity and fosters innovation - For creativity and innovative ideas to flourish, it is essential that team members feel comfortable expressing themselves. Consider the countless innovative ideas that may have gone unspoken due to a team member's hesitation to share them in an environment lacking a sense of safety.
  1. Enhanced employee welfare - Mental health plays a significant role in the overall welfare of individuals. When employees enjoy good mental health, they are better equipped to operate at peak performance and mitigate stressors that might otherwise hinder their productivity.
  1. Reduced employee attrition - a recent study found that employees who experience psychological safety in their workplace exhibit reduced inclination to depart. After all, why depart from an organization that treats you with respect, ensuring your sense of security and value? The significant costs associated with recruiting, hiring, and training staff, among other expenses, render high employee turnover an unsustainable model for thriving businesses.
  1. Enhanced team effectiveness: When your workforce comprises deeply engaged, loyal employees, teams thrive. When a culture of inclusivity prevails, coupled with brand advocacy and a wellspring of innovative ideas, teams excel. When you combine these factors with the well-being of your employees, you've assembled a winning formula for elevating team performance.

 

psychological safety

Summary

 

By actively promoting psychological safety and embracing these key findings, you're not only contributing to the well-being of your team members but also paving the way for your organisation's long-term success, as demonstrated by Google's Project Aristotle. Remember, the seeds of psychological safety that you sow today will yield a bountiful harvest of innovation, collaboration, and growth in the future.

 

Interested in diving deeper into this top? Come along to our Psychological Safety in the Workplace.

 

 

Feedback is a critical part of building an adaptive organisation. While people have talked about how to give effective feedback, little has been said on how to receive feedback.  In the early years of Radically, we tried to build a strong feedback culture, and frankly, we overdid it. We were so passionate about the growth of our people that feedback came too thick and fast, and it all became a bit much. We have now reached a happy balance, and through that journey learned a lot I would like to share our guide on how to receive feedback.

An adaptive culture is an important part of enterprise agility. It is a culture that helps people prepare for change and build the ability to lean into uncertainty, rather than fear it. One way to build this is by applying a growth mindset.  People with a growth mindset see failure as a way to identify their current level of competence, thus making them more likely to feel more comfortable in an environment where they can rapidly experiment and learn.

Growth mindset to receive feedback

Helping people develop a growth mindset is an important part of the work we do at Radically and one of the tools we use to help people develop one is feedback.

Many people really struggle to both give and receive feedback. And us Kiwis seem to especially struggle with it. New Zealanders tend to be quite indirect. We tend to prefer subtle suggestions, indirect hints and innuendo. While plenty has been written about how to give feedback, little has been written about how to receive feedback.

In 2019 I wrote this guide on how to receive feedback for the Radically team. I share it here with you today in the hope that it might help you.

How to receive feedback

First off, let me provide some context. I was bought up in conservative, suburban Christchurch. People who were direct were considered somewhat crude and uncultured. Like the rest of NZ, few around me were direct.  When I started my consulting career, and it was now part of my job to give and receive feedback, it is fair to say it did not come naturally. In particular, I had moments when receiving feedback was hard and my response, mostly internally, was emotional.

Over time, I realised that many others are the same. And that is why I wrote this guide. It is for those of you who might at first struggle to receive feedback. Here is how I learned to do it.

Acceptance -  first off, don’t be surprised if your response is emotional. It’s natural to feel knocked if you are not used to receiving feedback. The way I approach this is to notice the emotion, accept it, and then simply let it pass over me. I learned not to fight it. Just observe it, accept it and let it run its course. Breathing deeply helps.

Objectivity - now give yourself time to allow the emotion to fade away into the distance. For me, this sometimes means leaving it overnight and thinking about it the next day with a clear head. Once you do this, you can observe the feedback objectively. Try to imagine being a neutral third-party observer who was listening to the feedback. Could it possibly be true? Is it possible that with the emotion removed, the perspective offered could be valid? Most of the time, you will find it is.

Helpfulness - the next step, while you are in an objective viewpoint, is to ask yourself whether the feedback is actually useful. Does it help you grow and become a better person? If the feedback was indeed correct, by taking it on board, could you take something from it and grow?

Perspective - now take the time to reflect on why the person gave you feedback. There is often little personal benefit for the other person in feedback. So why did they give it to you? The purpose here is to build an appreciation for the fact that someone was courageous enough to tell you the truth for your benefit. Maybe, just maybe, they were trying to help. So start by offering them thanks, even if it is just in your head 😉

Changes - If you were to make changes because of this feedback, what would they be? What might be involved? List out the key things you would do. And finally, double-check by considering how will you know the changes have stuck?

Effort - some changes require a lot of effort. And sometimes you might not have room in your life to make those changes. Be honest with yourself! If it is too much effort right now then that’s fine. Make note of it and consider implementing it later.

Implementation - assuming you decide to do it, then get on with it! Don’t analyse, don’t think too much, just make a decision that you are going to give this a go and do it.

Follow-up - now comes the moment of truth - go close the loop with the person who gave you the feedback. Discuss whether you are going to do something, what your plan is and ask them to be part of the solution by periodically checking whether the change you are making has stuck.

 

Summary

I have used this simple, 8-Step model to help practice receiving feedback and it has greatly helped me. I hope it goes some way to helping you too.

Please feel free to share your comments and any additional suggestions you have below and let's learn to improve NZ’s feedback culture one step at a time!

One of the real highlights of 2019 for me was launch the Adaptive Leadership Collective.  The ALC has been an ambition of mine for many years and it was an honour to be able to draw together business leaders in one space to support one another with modernising our businesses.

Continue reading “The Adaptive Leadership Collective”