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My boss doesn’t communicate with me, why? Do you know that this could be detrimental to the progress of the company? An insightful and communicative boss can make the toughest days easier. A boss that doesn’t communicate can make every bit of your working hours crazy.
Not everyone can communicate. We meet with this set of people in all areas of life. How stressful will it be when you have a boss that doesn’t communicate?
What is Communication?
Communication is a process by which we exchanged information between individuals through a medium. Communication has remained one of the important leadership skills. The key to a company’s progress lies in the communication between the employees and their boss.
Communication is fundamental to human existence and survival. Also, for the survival of any organization, communication is pivotal. Being able to communicate is an important life skill. Many also define it as creating and sharing ideas, information, views, facts, etc. among people to reach common knowledge.
The medium of communication should be clear. If the information passed across during the process is not understood by the receiver, communication isn’t done. There are two main characters in communication: which are the sender (s) and the receiver (s).
Comprehending the information sent by the sender is the goal. When information is passed through any medium, the receiver must assimilate the content. A piece of information is useless if the receiver can not understand the details.
Why Communication is Important?
As an employee, you will not know what your boss wants if they don’t communicate. A boss might be highly loaded and intelligent, they become irrelevant if he lacks excellent communication skills. A leader must communicate his directions to his followers to get the work done properly.
Effective management
A company needs a boss who will effectively manage its business. As earlier said, a boss’s intelligence and knowledge become irrelevant if they lack excellent communication skills. The boss communicates targets and goals to the workers and then allocates roles.
Fluent workflow
We need communication for fluent workflow. Necessary information is being disseminated at the right time. The workers know what is in the mind of their leader. It helps to know what are to do per time.
Coordination
Leadership involves coordination. We cannot achieve coordination without communication.
Structure and Organization
To maintain structure and proper organization in a company, a leader must communicate with the workers. Without effective communication, the company will lack structure. Anybody can do things the way they want.
Adequate decision making
Workers grow to understand their bosses well with effective communication. They can make quality decisions that will move the company forward in the absence of their bosses.
Morale boosting
“One good turn deserves another”; part of good communication is praising and acknowledging good deeds. It helps to boost the workers’ morale.
Discipline
When there are no rules and regulations that guide a company, workers abuse that liberty. We expect leaders to communicate the rules and regulations that the workers must follow.
Teamwork
Workers work in isolation when there is no communication. When bosses and their employees communicate, it aids teamwork. It also helps in getting tasks done within a short time.
Communication Process
The process of communication is continuous. The communication process involves three fundamental elements: Sender, message, and receiver. To see how the receiver got the message, the sender may ask for feedback. Besides this, there are other important elements of communication which are explained below.
- Sender
This is the source of the message or information to be passed down to the receiver.
- Message
It is the content of the information intended to pass across to the receiver.
- Encoding
We encode the message to be communicated as words, pictures, code, etc.
- Media
Information can be passed across through different means. The medium includes written words or oral means. Nowadays, we have several means of passing information. Examples are emails, voice calls, video calls, fax, encrypted means, etc.
- Receiver
A receiver is the recipient of the message sent from the sender.
- Feedback
In some cases, we require feedback if the receiver understood the content of the message.
Things to communicate
Employees look up to their bosses for information, insight, guidelines, and lots more. Bosses are role models for their employees.
The reason why My Boss doesn’t Communicate
There are lots of reasons your boss doesn’t communicate with you. Your boss’s failure in communication doesn’t mean they are bad people. Let’s check out some reasons.
The Boss is new
If your boss is new, that might hinder communication. Not everyone settles down quickly in a new place. The boss might want to study and understand everything and everyone around the company.
Busy
Being too busy is one of the major reasons some bosses don’t communicate. They have a lot of things at hand than to prioritize communication.
Introvert
Some people find it difficult to communicate properly. Often, managers are chosen based on their technical skills rather than interpersonal skills. An introverted boss finds it difficult to communicate with his followers.
Lack of confidence
Irrespective of position or role, some leaders find it difficult to communicate with their followers. They rather not talk because they don’t have the confidence. Sometimes, the boss does the work meant for the workers because of a lack of confidence to lead.
Information overload
Another reason is if your boss is overloaded with information. Effective communication is about direction and clarity.
Family problems
Family problems and challenges can be another reason. People find it hard to concentrate when they have a family crisis. Is your boss less friendly than he used to be? Something is wrong.
Work first, less familiarity
Some bosses only care about work and have less familiarity with their workers. They feel a familiarity with workers can give room for disrespect. It could be a hindrance.
Effects of inadequate communication
Following are the Effects of inadequate communication
Inefficient workforce
No matter how big a company might be, a lack of communication will inhibit its potential. The efficiency of a workforce is not in how big it is. It is in how well they are informed and used.
Low productivity
Resources might be available for workers in a company and still be less productive. Lack of communication leads to low productivity.
Unconducive working environment
The working environment becomes unconducive when your boss doesn’t communicate. You can’t tell what he wants or how he wants things done.
Lack of direction
The company lacks direction when the boss doesn’t communicate. Employees need a constant reminder of the values and goals of the company. Yet, this can only be achieved by effective communication.
Ways to make your boss communicate
Here are some effective ways to make your boss communicate.
Ask questions
One of the most powerful tools to make your boss communicate is asking questions. Ask questions to get clarity about the information or task given to you. It is not bad to ask questions. Moreover, it is a subtle way of telling your boss there is a communication gap.
Listen attentively
Sometimes workers blame their bosses for poor communication. Whereas it is them who are not paying attention. Do your part by listening attentively, maintaining eye contact, and noting things down sometimes.
Be actively engaged
A silent and unresponsive listener can easily kill off a conversation. Be actively involved in a conversation with your boss. Drop affirmative conversational lines such as “Okay”, “Very well sir”, “Sure thing sir” etc. This helps to keep the conversation alive.
Find out your boss’s communications preference
We are all human beings and our preferences are different. Find out how best your boss likes to communicate. Some like to send emails, video calls, or one on one conversations.
Arrange recurring one-on-one meetings
Most time, the root cause of the lack of communication is insufficient time. Regular private meetings help to keep up with the tasks at hand.
Provide positive feedback
At the end of a brief meeting, respond with positive feedback that will encourage your boss. For instance, you can say “thank you for those insightful words” or “with everything you have said, the sky is our starting point”. Consistent positive feedback improves your boss’s communication skills.
Come straight about the communication problem
In some cases, it might require you to tell your boss about the communication gap between you two. When doing this, your approach is very important. You can’t achieve your aim by calling him out in front of colleagues in a meeting or tabling your concerns rudely. You can schedule a meeting with him privately to discuss the issue. Be prepared to give him examples of when he communicated well, in contrast to when he didn’t do well. Try to present the problem well to move the company forward.
Finally, there is a need for critical examination when your boss doesn’t communicate with you. Bosses can communicate through behavior, gifts, verbal means, non-Verbal means, and so on. Communication is important in every organization. Sadly, not all bosses possess that great skill. The fear of not overstepping boundaries has kept some workers silent. Any more questions? Join The Black Sheep Community today!
