Little by little, your workplace is changing.
As old industries disappear and, along with them, control management styles, new structures and new systems are taking their place.
Where once the manager sat on top of the pyramid and issued commands to the team below, today the chances are high that it is the team that straddles the pyramid and issues information to the manager below.
Today, it is the teams that have the information and knowledge. It is the teams that know how the company’s customers feel. And teams that fend for themselves.
All this supposes a reconsideration of the traditional character of communication.
Where previously the predominant flow of communication was top-down, one-way, in today’s information age, communication is multi-directional and purposeful. It goes anywhere and goes where it is needed.
That can be up or down, horizontally, and in every way diagonally.
And one of the key skills of this type of communication is Upward Reporting.
This skill requires: knowing how to get and keep your boss’s attention; report in a timely manner; knowing what he or she needs to hear; be brief and precise; balance problems with solutions; and be willing to be questioned and cross-examined.
To illustrate Upward Reporting, here’s a set of rules posted by a manager to a self-managed team about how they want to be kept informed.
“When you report on the road, please remember…
Rule 1: Keep me regularly informed; I hate unpleasant surprises.
Rule 2: Don’t give me time. I know they’ve done it to you, but please give me some time to think.
Rule 3: Only bring up issues that you really can’t solve. Anything else will just come back to you.
Rule 4: Don’t leave out the bad points because you want to look good: tell me everything.
Rule 5: Give me at least three options for each problem. I prefer to choose and it is faster.
Rule 6: Do your homework before you come; I don’t want you to have to go and look for something.
Rule 7: Remember that this is how you will want your staff to inform you when you are in my position!”
Communication is, and always has been, the glue that holds an organization together. Just because the predominant direction of that communication has shifted from top-down to bottom-up doesn’t mean it’s any less important. Learn to report correctly and you will master the new regime.
