To give a refresher, I work closely with employers to determine needs and barriers and regurgitate that back to students in the way where they can learn how to be professionals entering the workforce. So what is it about communication that is missing? Why is it so important? Well, podcast The Communication Guys paint a great picture as to why this need is so essential! Not only do they touch on the need, but pieces that individuals might not even deem as communication.
As growing professionals in the HRD/OLP field, a topic we are often faced with is motivation. More so, what motivates individuals? Is it money, family, religion? Or maybe something the workplace can not offer. But let's stick with the topic of motivation and look at it from both sides of the desk.
EMPLOYER
You are an employer trying to determine what motivates your employees. How do you determine this? Better yet, when you have determined it, how do you let you employee know or "feel" they are appreciated? It is all how you communicate towards them. To often the term communication is associated with the act of speaking, but communicating can come in several different forms, so there is a whole new can of worms to investigate.
EMPLOYEE
Let's role reverse. You are the employee. How do you let your employer understand what motivates you? Is it as simple as saying "My family is my motivator"? While that may be true, don't you feel it is rather vague? Being able to paint a picture as to why your family is your motivator while respecting personal and professional boundaries are all pieces to be aware of.
The point to all of this is that communication is more than a simple exchange of pleasantries. It is the most important tool you can bring with you every day to be successful. I encourage everyone to listen to The Communication Guys to learn more about the power of communication and to brush up on your own skills.
To get started or to give yourself a refresher, I recommend Season 1, Episode 2 of The Communication Guys: Why Communication Is Important
LINK TO PODCAST--> http://www.communicationguys.com/why-communication-is-important/
You will take away 7 important reasons why Communication is important
1. Communication is the foundation of skill
2. Secret to success
3. Communication is Human
4. Makes good ideas great
5. Critical in the modern world
6. Interconnection
7. MARKETABLE (this applies to both employer and employee)
Can you think of more reasons why communication is so important?
I like your post! I did away with podcasts for a while after I subscribed to fifty of them, thinking I'd listen to them all - yeah, that didn’t happen… It ended being podcast overload and I deleted each one of them because I felt inundated by all the information!
ReplyDeleteBUT, I think it is interesting that you found a specific podcast that caters to communication! I think communication dictates perception and perception drives motivation. Since communication IS far more intricate than the exchange of pleasantries, how does an organization go about nurturing communication in the workplace? If an employer does a lousy job of communicating needs to employees and vice versa – how is this problem solved? This IS so vital to workplace success and functionality! Is this something that “The communication guys” explain in their podcast? Do they give solutions to communication barriers? Haha, maybe an organization could implement listening to a specific podcast for training and developmental purposes! I’ll have to check out this podcast! Thanks for the info!
Taylore:
ReplyDeleteWhat I love about The Communication Guys podcast is they do provide solutions to several communication barriers! It drives me nuts when people just point out the obvious with no solutions! I had a class once about workplace ethics and all they spoke of was how to be ethical, but never what to do when poor ethics were in place. So often the "what to do" pieces are missing. I will be speaking to a group of students in the next week and I need to make sure they remember me since this will be potentially they only time I will get face-time with them. So I plan on listening to The Communication Guys and their podcast all week since they provide several different situations and solutions!