How do you communicate objectives? How do you listen to collaborators?

Managers focus on results and tend to forget about people ...

When the objectives are short term, ambitious and stretched, managers become stressed, tense and focus on actions and results.

As a more or less direct consequence, the pressure on executives deteriorates their relationships with collaborators and teams. This tends to diffuse top-down through the organization and both the culture and work environment may become tense and inflexible.

In these situations managers tend to see their employees as nothing more but pure resources.

The meetings they organise become a way of unilaterally informing people, communicating goals, giving and distributing tasks. With a poor availability or openness to listening to comments, perceptions and opinions from contributors. With no opportunity for sharing events or having deep feedback about the activity. No time for that!

Team members are perceived as a "To-do List", a list of actions and tasks to be executed.

Have you ever been in meetings where, repeatedly, the same actions are scheduled and reviewed, time after time, without ever wondering or asking what the hell is going on?

I would suggest to try and be more careful, be more alert. Not to rush.

Take notice of what your collaborators are saying. Or of what they are not telling you.

What you might perceive on their faces, from their attitudes or their body language ...

Don't shut yourself into your world, your data, your goals ...Be curious!

Do not fall into the trap of making assumptions and believing in them. It's may be comfortable but not always efficient. Ask questions.

Try to be present when you're working with your colleagues, really there. Try to know where they are, what they think, where they stand, how they are doing with their activities.

You will have another perspective of what is happening in your company or department ... You will create connection and intimacy with your collaborators.

They'll come up to you when they have relevant information or when events of importance arise.

They'll trust you if they need guidance or direction ...

Don't forget! The results come through people. Not the other way around...