Speak Only With Good Purpose: Communication in the Workplace

What is the importance of communication in the workplace?

Don't you think communication is the most important element of creating a healthy productive work environment?

Marshall Thurber, the hugely successful real estate mogul had a rule in his office: "If it doesn't serve don't say it."

Thurber had developed this rule after reading the biography of Rolling Thunder, the Native American medicine man:

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"First of all, if we don't want to think certain things we don't say them. . . So we begin by watching our words and speaking with good purpose only."

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Starting from the concept of "good purpose" it's important to begin shaping your team's communication by shaping your own - the way they speak is exactly how they think. That is the job of a leader, to help people reframe how and what they think toward a more positive and productive mindset.

This is less about controlling your team and more about empowering them to control themselves.

Start Your "No Tolerance" Policy

Negativity is all around us. Watch the news, read the paper, read a magazine: the old saying if it bleeds it leads really hits home when you think about how negativity rules many peoples' lives.

Within a team setting negativity is a cancer, ruining relationships, fostering distrust, and sapping creativity and productivity. Negativity cannot be tolerated.

This also doesn't mean you need to run your team from some kind of la-la land. If you want people to generate effective solutions, they should speak from the standpoint of being a solutions provider.

The great book The Four Agreements says:

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It is through your word that you manifest everything. . . What you feel, and what you are, will all be manifested through the word.

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Your workplace builds itself through the words it uses, the language that develops. That is how your business reality is shaped. Having a success mindset therefore is rooted in the culture of communication in the workplace you establish and foster.

As a team leader the responsibility is on you to establish the right tone for your team members by maintaining your own words, even when things are tough.

Improve your Communication: Empower Your Team

Empowering your team starts between your ears. Most learning taught by our educational system is "informational Learning," that is you listen, you take note, you memorize, and you take a test.

Robert Allen says that "Transformational Learning" is the type of learning that happens when people discover the answers for themselves.

Discovering the patterns of good communication is the key to unlock the potential of any team. Establishing a "no tolerance" policy for negative talk is the first step you should take toward transforming your performance, empowering your team, and improving your communication in the workplace.