Smarter Communicators and Trust Builders

Executive Coach Robin Camarote offers two strong recommendations for business interactions

Two favorite lessons stood out in Robin Camarote’s Inc. magazine article about impressive organizational communication and the available results from it.

She actually detailed three points: Build empathetic communicators, resolve conflicts proactively and create a culture of trust. This article however will focus on the first and last of Camarote’s recommendations.

Build empathetic communicators

Anyone who believes that there is an overabundance of empathetic communicators in business and the workplace is fooling themselves. The belief that respectful, empathetic communicators are the norm is not factual and therefore, not true.

If anything, there is a dearth of this type of commitment and behavior. If it’s not indifference in communication, it’s arrogance that is much more prevalent.

Camarote has something to say about how to improve the current reality.

“By encouraging leaders to cultivate a deep understanding of their team members' perspectives, backgrounds and motivations, training programs nurture empathetic communicators who can connect with others on a profound level,” she writes.

“When leaders are tuned in, they create an environment for dialogue to thrive by validating concerns, providing reassurance and bouncing ideas.”

What’s your response to her claim?

Here’s what the Communication Intelligence newsletter will say about it: Yes, make the consistent effort to encourage leaders to make time and the wise investment to seek out perspectives, backgrounds and motivations, i.e. understanding.

Doing this sincerely and consistently communicates respect and caring to those you lead. It’s easy and maybe natural to say “I don’t have the time” or “I have more important tasks to accomplish” but that is problematic, limited, short-sighted and possibly, dangerous thinking.

It can prove to be costly as it invites disconnect and leads to a lack of gaining invaluable knowledge and understanding about the people who make up the whole. How can one best lead if they “don’t get” your people? That’s a rhetorical question.

Create a culture of trust

“Effective communication and conflict resolution thrive in an environment of trust,” Camarote writes. “Leadership development training recognizes the significance of trust-building and offers strategies to cultivate it within teams. By fostering transparent and authentic communication, leaders can create a safe space where team members feel comfortable expressing their ideas and concerns.”

What do you think?

Here’s what the Communication Intelligence newsletter will say about it: It is true that the more trusting the culture, whether it be business, in the workplace or in our personal lives, the much more likely it becomes for effective communication to be the norm and conflict resolution to have a higher probability of transpiring.

This takes an agreed-upon high standard, honorable character, excellent attitude and hard work and perseverance. All that is not impossible. Only indifference, impulsive behavior and excuses block building an invaluable culture of trust.

Trust building, formal and informal, are crucial. It needs to be consciously constructed. It needs to be regular practice. It needs to be important.

Building a safe space should not be considered optional. This is not to say that every emotion needs to be attended to; it is saying that being dismissive and arrogant is dumb, unprofessional, low-quality behavior. If it is consistent with any one employee, that person needs to be immediately and fully encouraged to look for a new opportunity elsewhere, no matter where they reside on the organizational hierarchy.

How we communicate when triggered is important, whether we are the initiator of the communication or the one responding to it.

Think and act thoughtfully, sensitively and ethically deescalate stress and conflict, instead of turning away — or turning against people. Keep the big picture of trust building and a culture of trust front and center.

Why? Because it makes teamwork, even when challenging or painful, more likely to collaborative and produce the desired, exciting results.

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