3 Real Reasons Behind your Team's "Communication Problems"

Organization leaders should be intentional in developing robust team building structures that allow for setting ground rules for effective communication in and across teams.

“We have a communication problem” was one of the most common answers received when conducting diagnostic interviews during my management consulting career. It was a “Dig Deeper!” signal for us consultants to understand what was really behind what seemed like lack of proper communication. Which rarely was.

Effective team communication is crucial for productivity, quality assurance, culture building and employee engagement. However, it is usually left to fate and not managed intentionally. Being a good communicator requires good soft skills, but, at the end, it is not only about individual talent.

Many times, the real issue behind “communication problems” have to do with three main elements:

1. Misunderstood behaviors

2. Lack of systems and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

3. Missing routines

Walk with me.

Misunderstood Behaviors

Communication problems can arise when individuals assume that everyone else follow the same internal rules. In other words, when we are not able to see the tasks or issues from other people's perspectives or when we expect them to behave like us.

Let me tell you a story of mine.

I have an almost-sister-friend with whom I did volunteer work for a nonprofit more than a decade ago. I was the events coordinator and she edited videos used at the events. Amazing videos, got to say. But we had a communication problem.

She used to edit the videos the night before the event, requesting my feedback on my most stressful night. I didn't have the mind to give her feedback at that moment and I would get mad because I couldn't understand her "procrastination". I believed she should edit the videos one week prior. She couldn't believe why I wasn't happy with the work done the night before, if, in the end, the videos were still amazing.

Agreeing was not going happen. So we fought. Like sisters. Every time.

That was not sustainable.

Then, one day I had an 'aha moment'. I realized that we would never agree on delivery dates because we were wired completely different. My background is Engineering, where everything is planned in advanced and calculated to optimize gains and minimize risks. Her background is Journalism, where she was trained to produce spectacular content in less than ten minutes. None of us were going to change in the near future.

So, I negotiated with her. I could agree not to expect the deliverables one week before the event, as long as it wasn't on the night before, when I was too stressed to give feedback to her videos. We compromised on having the videos ready to provide feedback two nights before the event.

And the fight turned into joy. We were happy forever after and everybody won.

Many "communication issues" can be solved by understanding each other's backgrounds, personality traits, unique motivators, and energy "sparkers".

There are tests like the Myers Briggs MBTI, Gallup Strengthsfinder, and The Table Group's Working Genius that are great resources to understand behavior preferences, as well as team strengths and opportunities. Those resources should be provided to each team member individually, but its real effectiveness comes when the results are discussed and used at the team level.

Lack of systems and SOPs

Other communication issues have to do with lack of standardized processes that establish clear responsibilities and role expectations on how to manage process-related situations.

One of the best examples is when organizations rely on the use of emails to trigger a process or manage department complaints. Emails get lost and and do not allow for reporting and status tracking. I have seen emails where representatives from Sales departments use caps to yell to employees on Operations units for not handling customer issues properly. I have seen Quality teams that constantly complain about the supplier technicians work and how they "don't care" about customers because quality complaints are not followed up.

When we as consultants went out and mapped the processes to understand root causes, it all could be solved by having a case management or issue tracking system; and an SOP directing who will be in charge of responding to cases by type.

Having systems in place to document and track status of issues, as well as assigning and documenting clear responsibilities for how those issues will be managed, tends to solve many communication problems in teams and organizations.

Missing Routines

Finally, when we heard about communication problems, one of the first questions we also asked was "how frequent does the team meet?". And, in organizations with strong "communication issues", typically, silence arises.

Lack of communication routines lead to silos and lack of alignment, and, subsequently, to increased conflict and finger pointing.

Creating meeting routines is essential to ensure effective communication. Frequency of those meetings should be set depending on the subject and strategic level of the information to be discussed (see table below). Combining scheduled meetings with clear responsibilities is key to success in communication.

Communication in Remote Work Times

Improving communication lines and methods during these remote work times requires even more intentionality, design, and coordination. It also requires creating spaces for in person connection and social interactions.

Being intentional with communication structures requires investing in tools so that teams can understand the behaviors and preferences of team members. In addition, it calls for established and standardized procedures, as well as putting in place meeting routines that involve critical personnel.

If you are planning an offsite event to meet with your team and align on strategic or tactical matters, we can help you with the design, planning and coordination of the event. Request a consultation here. Also, let us know how do you deal with "communication issues" in your organization by leaving a comment below.