Communicate to Ease Fears
With the current economic situation, I’ve heard a lot from managers and team leaders about how their team is distracted by all the negative news. They’re looking for ways to help manage the fear and to keep their team focused on the work at hand.
I tell these individuals that the number one thing they can do is to communicate honestly. An open line of communication goes a long way in keeping your people focused. If there are rumors that something bad is going to happen, the level of distraction is significantly higher than if you were to tell them exactly how your business is doing and what it means to them. Remember, if you don’t tell them what’s happening, they’ll make it up themselves. Chances are the rumors will be much worse than reality.
What have you experienced? Do you have examples to share regarding how poor communication adversely affected your team or how keeping open lines of communication helped to stop rumors?
