Not long ago, complained to a friend who works in television, that industry is not interested in the stories of real business. And, I agree with him, because we do not see much on television that no market prices or some sort of scandal.
Well, maybe with one exception. British Broadcasting Corporation and PBS broadcast in the United States, a popular business show called “Back to the Floor it.”
Fast Company Magazine first told us about the program that CEOs leaving their corner offices to serve on the front looks. And if they worked at the front, the camera rolls.
For many if not all CEOs, the experience is a big eye-opener. And according to the magazine, “Almost without exception, CEOs learn a lesson in communication.” We found the people in the heart of any organization that exactly know what is right and what is wrong with him, “says Thirkell [Robert Thirkell, producer of the show.]” But between them and the bosses is a layer of people – people who whose careers are dependent on sanitary information Bos, how much knowledge there are more surprises under the stairs .. “”
In this sense, let’s spend a minute or two thinking about the barriers to upward communication is good. And rather than blame middle management, which seems to be a theme article, we will look to structural problems.
First, the communication with the call to gather information or data. For example, the supervisory authorities to report on the efforts of five front-line staff, managers then aggregate the data of five supervisors, and vice president of the strand pulling all the information of five managers provided.
Since the aggregate data in this way lost most of the context and richness. With frame and wealth, I mean knowledge and personal anecdotes to collect the front of employees and build from continuous interactions with customers or users. Obviously, most CEOs do not have time to read the report consists of hundreds of anecdotes that a summary of information.
Secondly, such information or data moves upward, it tends to be placed in any existing categories. Staff at the front of knowledge and understanding of the nuances of each story of the Customer, it reflects at a lower level or higher, the personal relationships between employees and customers. But there is no room for nuance in weekly reports.
Third, the top means of communication usually takes place with respect to competitive or operational intelligence. Managers use the information moves, the hierarchy of how well they had followed instructions to be determined. If they are competitive or operational information that they want to use in different ways, such as bringing in consultants or commissioning studies.
Always tempting to communication failure in a moral failure of managers attribute, but if you really want to understand the communication failures, you should start by looking for structural barriers.
In short, CEOs who spend time at the front would give many surprises. But if they want to stay up to date on the action at the front, they have to overcome the structural nature of upward communication.