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\n\t\tOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.\t<\/p>\n
Bringing back your authority as a leader doesn\u2019t have to come with a conflict. You can position yourself wisely and create a thriving business setting once you are fully in charge of where and how communication happens.<\/p>\n
Most business owners aren\u2019t even aware of where the communication happens. When an issue pops up, you discuss it right away, regardless of where you are and with whom. Right? Wrong.<\/p>\n
Hallways and public places with customers and patients are the worst places to talk business. Not only are you compromising your authority, but you\u2019re also compromising the outcome of the conversation.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t solve issues or discuss goals in the hallway or, worse, in front of the clients. Why? Addressing mistakes in public causes staff to close up and defend their egos, and they don\u2019t comprehend the importance of the conversation. Stop.<\/p>\n
All communication modalities, including the environment where communication happens, affect the whole team\u2019s performance and leaders\u2019 positioning. In most businesses, there are two environmental communication frames:<\/p>\n
Both have strong implications for your business, whether you\u2019re aware of it or not. Modern businesses nurture the narrative that values open, accessible environments to ease communication. But research doesn\u2019t support this.<\/p>\n
A Harvard Business School<\/a> study found that open-plan workspaces reduced meaningful face-to-face interaction by 70%. Lack of structure doesn\u2019t help strengthen work relationships. It just produces more noise. Your staff doesn\u2019t need more access to you. They need the right environment to understand their roles and expectations.<\/p>\n First, take back your authority by acknowledging that you\u2019re in charge of the communication environment. Second, bring back the significance to your meetings by choosing the environment that allows you to establish your authority instantly. You\u2019ve got the option to use home advantage. Don\u2019t miss it.<\/p>\n Does this sound familiar? You start chatting in the hallway during a break, while the person you talk to casually looks at their phone, and you bring up the issues with the performance for the third time, yet nothing happens.<\/p>\n There are two reasons for that. Your environment and distractions didn\u2019t signal to your employee that what you want to discuss is important enough. Second, you\u2019re talking in a public space, which can trigger a defensive response in your employee.<\/p>\n Your task: bring significance to your conversation. You can do it in two ways.<\/p>\n Remove distractions: Cut the phone out of your conversation and reduce buzzing. Even though your employees don\u2019t check the phone at every buzz, their mental state will acknowledge that there\u2019s a new notification they haven\u2019t checked. Without phones, your staff is more likely to comprehend the consequences of the meeting and its crucial points.<\/p>\n Be conscious of where the conversation happens.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re not used to consciously approaching the place where your business conversation happens, you\u2019re often at risk of misinterpretation of the signals. These misinterpretations lead to confusion on both sides and not only undermine your authority but also directly impact the performance.<\/p>\n For example, when you\u2019re bringing up missed goals in the lunch room, your staff may nod or give you vague acceptance to fulfill the social convention and avoid conflict in public.<\/p>\n You will think that they understood, but they may use your casual approach to interpret the subject as not that important, and the task will remain undone. Why? Because you haven\u2019t set the environment for your team to understand the consequences of not completing it. The public setting and people-pleasing culture you accepted led to this.<\/p>\nHow to signal significance<\/h2>\n
Stop people-pleasing<\/h2>\n