A Consequence of Miscommunication

When a manager approaches her team with a new idea for a product to take to market, she will communicate this idea from a certain point of view.

The product is this and the strategy to take it to market is such and such a strategy. She’s communicating this strategy from a particular point of view. Her point of view to be more precise.

But she has a different set of belief systems that influence her point of view and affects the way she communicates the strategy. She also has different knowledge and ideas of the business strategy she’s communicating - she has a particular set of ideas as to what constitutes a business strategy and that’s what’s being communicated.

So what she perceives as delivering a clear and coherent message about the strategy that needs to be implemented for the new product, might in fact miss the mark altogether with her team.

Why? The reason being that her team maybe interpreting her message about the strategy from an entirely different perspective. All due to the fact that they have different beliefs, ideologies and experiences as well as knowledge and understanding or assumptions of what strategy means and how to deliver on that strategy.

Thus, immediately there’s an imbalance in the equation.

A miscommunication develops as the team hears something different to what the manager is communicating or thinks she’s communicating. All are not entirely on the same page.

When it comes time for the team to implement the strategy, the miscommunication results in ineffective product placement and positioning; its wide of the mark. This ultimately puts a dampener on productivity and creates a lot of anxiety and tension in the process.

Now the uncomfortable feeling drives the strategy implementation, creating a lot of resentment and a weak product, ensuring the original assumption is proved true - namely, disconnect and failure of the strategy and maybe the product too.

Hence the importance of clear, concise, effective communication that empowers people through knowledge and understanding to deliver and exceed expectations.