Reference no: EM132811337

Communication

Skill #1- Communicate well in multiple ways, modes and listen actively to those with whom you are communicating.

The design staff at Easy Chairs often complains that the team leader, Josh, is hard to work with, but they cannot do without him. He has great ideas and knows how to implement them well, but in terms of getting the work done the team complains he is a nightmare. Here is what his team has to say:

"We send him emails and he either gives us one-word answers, fails to edit what he sends, or fails to reply. Sometimes he tells two people to do the same thing not remembering he has given the assignment to someone else. The worse problem is that he prioritizes work in an email and then changes things when events interfere. Again, not communicating the change. Last week two of us edited a design for a custom front carrier basket for a customer whose deadline was this week only to find that Josh had changed the deadline to last week. The basket design that was completed by us both had to be adjusted to one design and the rear basket had to be done in two days. This meant long nights. Creating the printer design code takes time. We have tried to talk with Josh about things like this and he gets better for a while and then things are back to normal. He just doesn't listen."

Josh was asked about the team's concerns and here was his reply:

"I spend a lot of time prioritizing and delegating job tasks to the team. I always ask people if they are clear about what they have to do and ninety percent of the time I get no answers. I have to assume they are fine with what I have said. I am the first to admit that I could be better about myemails. However, I often call people to check on what is being done or stop by to see if things are going okay. I don't want to micromanage what they do. The problem last week is an example; I went to check up on the front basket design Don was assigned only to find that Joan was doing the same project (and not working on the rear basket as the schedule said). The customer called me with changes, including a deadline change, and I saw Joan in the hallway and told her about the changes. I did not tell her she was to edit the basket design. She just assumed that was what I was telling her to do. I went to Dan and gave him the changes. Why didn't she say that I had gotten the wrong basket design person? I sometimes think that they are not listening to me."

Dwight is curious about the communication issues that seem to be happening here between Josh and the team and wants to take action. He wants an email from you by the end of the week. It should contain the following discussion:

Directions: 

• Create an email to Dwight outlining, with enough detail, the approach you would take to resolve the team's complaints. 
• Identify the communication issues that are causing problems with the team scenario.
• Explain at least six techniques you would employ to make the communication better between Josh and the team.
• Explain how you would communicate all this information to the people involved.