Impact of Communication on Time, Relationships and Engagement

After slicing, dicing and reorganizing content on Time Management, Employee Engagement, Communication and some others, it became clear that each naturally flows into the next with success or failure being dependent upon communication skills.  Communicate well and enjoy the riches of high employee engagement, stronger relationships and more dispensable time.

Poor, or nonexistent, communication skills create a never ending cycle of time spent trying to salvage harmed relationships.  If trust is broken, it won’t be rebuilt during one team meeting.  An angry team will typically display signs of decreased engagement which will cause lackluster business results.  More meetings (time!) will be scheduled to rebuild the team, starting with getting everyone on board with a shared mission and vision.  These are hard to buy in to without proper displays of emotional intelligence, particularly relationship management skills.

Depending on the severity of mishap that caused the damage, it may be repaired with a quick fix or require a much longer and labor intensive effort.  We all know that small slights are easier to repair than large ones.  When already pressed for time and resources, it’s certainly hard to devote more effort to assuaging hurt feelings.  However, ignoring a problem all together will lead to complete disengagement and relationship destruction. Top performers will flee.    

For relationships to succeed and produce strong performance, time, effort and effective communication need to be invested early.  The wisest investment is made proactively with routine ongoing follow up.  Transparency about obstacles and openly discussing challenges before they become unbearable helps foster trust and enhances connection with others.  Even during struggles, this type of candid and vulnerable communication will usually result in stronger relationships which encourages more discretionary effort (engagement!).  A little extra discretionary effort can create a very big business impact.  Additionally, acknowledging that challenging circumstances are “normal” and working on solutions together can be a very effective and enriching team building experience (relationship!).