The first thing that I could see changed at my work, in terms of supportive communication, would be the amount of electronic communication that takes place. Inundated, is the best term to describe the amount of correspondence that occurs over these low quality medium. I have been thinking about creating a template to use for all technical correspondence; this way all the information that I require to do my job would at minimum have some detail into the problem that I am asked to correct.
Another problem area with our communication, is expectation criteria. Ambiguity is not the best way to start a project; and much time is wasted because of the need for clarification. This entails many facets of the eight attributes including: descriptive problem description, individual specific tasking instead of the global "this is what you need to address", conjunctive elaboration (we weren't all at that meeting), owned responsibility for tasking (we need to know who we are trying to communicate of resolution with), and supportive listening (hear me so that I can confirm that we are on the same page).
I think that all of these can be addressed with more face time question and answer at the beginning of a project in lieu of the comprising and interpretation of multiple emails. Looking at someone in the eyes while they are conveying their views and expectations allows for a more pertinent acceptance of responsibilities. You are less likely to miss a deadline or lack sufficient information if you were tasked and didn't ask any questions for clarification of expectations.
Meet regularly to maintain the lines of supportive communication. These meetings would greatly improve the amount of missed information through-out the organization. If you have questions about how to move forward with a task, ask probing questions that you feel will bring all underlying issues to the forefront, "what are you hoping to see happen through the implementation of this program".
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