For happy, healthy communication in business (and life!)
Take the emotion out of it.
Making a business decision, having a tough conversation, responding to a frustrating email—take the emotion out of it.
Of course you’re passionate about your work, your projects, your concerns, your employees—and you should be, that’s what makes you good at your job. You will and should feel all sorts of emotions related to your job or work. But to be an effective communicator, when it comes time to share with others, you’ll have the most success if you can take the emotion out of it.
>Here’s an example: a subordinate you are close to isn’t getting the project she’s been angling for, and you need to tell her.
Emotional you wants to say “Sarah, I really wanted to give you this project because I know you really want it but we’ve decided to give it to your coworker, she’s just a little bit better than you at managing people and that’s what this project focuses on. I’m so sorry, I know how much you wanted it.”
Business-decision you who takes the emotion out of it says, “Sarah, your coworker is going to be spearheading Project X. For you to get future projects like X, we need to see you show better people management skills. On Project Y, here are the ways you can demonstrate growth in that area.”
This gives Sarah concrete reasoning and business feedback, leaving your friendship completely out of it. This is helpful for her as well, because it clarifies for her that the project selection isn’t a reflection of your relationship, but of her work.
The next time you need to have a business conversation, map out how to remove the emotion from it. You might be surprised at how different the conversation is, and how much more effective you are at communicating!
Image: Some rights reserved by Thomas Hawk