5 golden rules for transparent communication

5 GOLDEN RULES FOR TRANSPARENT COMMUNICATION

The topic of "dominance knowledge" long belonging in junk has become common knowledge, but it often still looks bleak in reality. In an online study conducted by the School for Communication and Management in Berlin, around 37% of respondents stated that their managers primarily acted as knowledge-collectors or tactical gatekeepers and brakemen. Because of the effect that executives have through communication, this is a thought-provoking result.

Modern leadership methods rely on open communication and the sharing of information and are thus very successful. Transparency lived in this way, creates trust, which in itself is an essential feel-good and productivity factor for employees. It is high time to consider this kind of trustworthiness as a necessary part of corporate capital. Information trust creates stability - another important success factor in the company. In my opinion, trust is the basis for emotional sustainability and long-term economic success.

Passing on or sharing knowledge is a recipe for success that managers should finally discover for themselves. After all, passing on master knowledge increases the chance of making good decisions in the long term. The following experiment should not only make doctors think.

Diagnosis: Domination knowledge

Several doctors were divided into groups of three. Each group was asked to solve two hypothetical medical cases, which were presented in a video. The first video was seen by all groups. The second video came in three different versions - each of the groups got a different one. Afterward, they were asked to make a diagnosis. What the doctors did not know was that the essential information for a correct diagnosis was distributed among the individual videos. So an accurate diagnosis was only possible if the doctors shared the news. As a result, the participants talked almost exclusively about the film, which was available to all. The individual information from the second video, i.e. the ruling knowledge, was kept by everyone for themselves. The result: the diagnosis made had deficits. The study led by James R. Larson of the University of Illinois at Chicago shows, like many other psychological studies, that teamwork is ineffective when participants primarily recapitulate knowledge they already know rather than sharing relevant new information. Regardless of the issue, the group is asked to solve: Whether it's a doctor's diagnosis (see above), a project decision, or a personnel issue, whether it's a manager or a "normal" employee, most people maintain their dominion knowledge.

How do you get rid of domination knowledge?

How can this be improved? Develop a communication codex for your team - in advance!

1. Formulate a shared goal

Team members should pursue a common goal and put personal concerns in the background. This is because the unconditional will to achieve the goal is the highest motivation to reveal dominant knowledge.

2. Trust

Team members should develop a high culture of trust among themselves. People who lack trust and are instead afraid that their personal opinion will be criticized prefer to remain silent and thus keep to themselves the information that is important for a good decision.

3. Allow a culture of dispute

"If two people always have the same opinion, one of them is superfluous," said British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. That's precisely the problem: The more harmonious the team, the fewer controversies. Creativity researchers know: Harmony leads to boredom and mediocre results. A respectful culture of debate, on the other hand, consciously allows for different points of view and opinions and thus increases the diversity and creativity of the discussion.

4. Competition stimulates business

Teams should perceive different positions as enrichment and not as a source of conflict. A change of perspective is always enlightening, broadens the horizon, and thus increases the chance of an excellent result.

5. Composure as a team default

Teams that rely on composure instead of pressure give the individual members the feeling that they can formulate their positions without fear - off the cuff. Here, the leader is called upon to encourage the participants to make unusual statements as well.

The rules of the game are simple - but implementation in German companies is still far too rare.

Dr. Gerhard Niesslein, whom I hold in high esteem and who is now happily retired and was CEO of IVG and a thought leader in the business world at the time, put it, in a nutshell, more than ten years ago in a Christmas letter to his business friends: "Building, nurturing and controlling trust capital - this is probably the key to stability in the economy; just as mutual trust has always created the basis for deeper human and social stability." There is nothing to add to this.