Communication and relationship building are crucial skills in the workplace, especially for managers and leaders. Effective communication and good relationships between management and employees, as well as among employees, facilitate the achievement of organizational goals and establish a positive climate in the workplace. However, if a manager lacks these essential skills, it leads to many problems with communication, trust, and accountability. Justine Wood, the top salesperson in Morton Paper Company, is an example of such a person. She could not build relationships with her team members, Andy Griffith and Ronnie Howard, which made her work with them very difficult and eventually led her to make a bad decision for the company.
A lack of communication skills led Justine to serious communication issues. For example, she was not able to openly talk to Griffith about his disagreement with her promotion, which led to strained relationships between them. Justine also did not voice her concerns about Griffith’s behavior during the negotiation and did not try to understand the true motives underlying his conduct. The same is true for Justine’s communication with Howard, who kept on holding a neutral position. Justine seemed to understand Howard’s desire to please everyone, but she did not make an effort to convince Howard that it was an unproductive way of working in a team. Overall, Justine appears to rely on her guesses regarding others’ behaviors rather than speak to them openly to clarify their view of the issue at stake.
Poor communication also led Justine to have trust issues with her team members. Griffith did not trust her because he was dissatisfied that she was promoted instead of him. Justine’s inability to address Griffith’s dissatisfaction led to the fact that his relationship with Allied’s CEO was better rather than that with Justine, which took a toll on her team’s negotiation with Allied. Eventually, by agreeing to new terms without consulting her team members, Justine was sure to ruin her team members’ trust in her.
Accountability issues stem from the manager’s inability to assign responsibilities to team members and hold them accountable. In the provided scenario, Justine seems to have failed to communicate to her team members what was expected from them during the negotiation. Perhaps, if she had been able to explain organizational goals to her team members and persuade them to act for the benefit of their company, she would not have experienced such difficulties in managing them.
If I were Justine, I would have handled the communication, trust, and accountability issues with team members before the last-minute change by Allied. First of all, I would have had a one-on-one conversation with each of the team members to hear their concerns and clarify their views of the situation. To accomplish this, I would need such communication skills as active listening, empathy, and respect. When listening to the concerns of others, one should listen rather than just wait for one’s turn to speak. Empathy is necessary to understand and acknowledge the feelings of others, which helps facilitate communication and build trust. Finally, everyone deserves to be treated with respect, and it is much easier to find out one’s actual view of the problem when one feels respected. With the help of these skills, I would have addressed Griffith’s dissatisfaction with his failure in the promotion and found out why he advocated for the rival company. I would also have been able to have an open conversation with Howard to find out the reason for her neutrality and encourage her to take a clear position.
The mentioned one-on-one conversations would also serve as the first step in building trust with team members. As a rule, people trust those who consider their interests when making decisions and will not use their weaknesses against them. Therefore, after hearing the team members’ concerns, it would be necessary to consider them when making important decisions, such as the one Justine made after she received a phone call from Black. If I were Justine, I would not have agreed to new terms without consulting team members. Even though there was not much time for a discussion, it was possible to make a phone call to each of the team members or make a conference call to include both of them in the discussion. This measure would preserve trust between Justine and her team members because they would see that their opinions matter.
In the provided scenario, the team members do not seem to have a clear understanding of organizational goals and their responsibilities, as evidenced by their behavior during the negotiation. Therefore, I would have addressed accountability issues by explaining organizational goals to the team members and assigning clear responsibilities to them. I would need such communication skills as rhetoric and asking for and providing feedback. I would have used rhetoric to be more persuasive and be able to convince others of why they should behave as required. Feedback is another powerful tool to improve communication with team members. By providing team members with feedback, I would direct their activity, hold them accountable for their responsibilities, and increase their engagement. If I were Justine, I would also ask for team members’ feedback to show them that their opinions matter and gain some valuable insights into how I could improve my work.