WHY AREN’T YOU LISTENING?

A few years ago I attended a risk communication workshop conducted by Dr. Vince Covello who was at the time a professor and researcher at Columbia University. He is a widely known author and consultant in the field of communications. The focus of his training was to help plant managers be more skillful in explaining hazards to the general public, particularly the public living in close proximity to their facilities. Many communication theories and principles which Dr. Covello has proven by extensive research studies were discussed and applied in the workshop. As I thought about this recently, I came to realize that his principles of risk communication apply equally well to communication inside organizations, and can be quite helpful to leaders in boosting their communication effectiveness. Let me show you what I mean by taking each of Dr. Covello’s principles and theories for risk communication with the public, one at a time, and illustrate their broader application and usefulness for leaders in workplace situations. NEGATIVE DOMINANCE THEORY “When people perceive a lack of trust, they tend to perceive things negatively.” It’s obvious how this applies in communicating risks to the public. It applies similarly to general communication inside companies. I saw this theory in action several years ago when my organization tried to communicate a positive addition to our compensation practices. I was stunned and bewildered when employees were not falling all over themselves rushing to express praise and thanks, but instead were being very critical. A favorite expression of one of my old bosses was, “No good deed goes unpunished.” In spite of the seeming applicability of this old adage and paradox in this circumstance, it now is apparent to me that the underlying issue was trust or the lack thereof. The employee perception was that the company was probably holding back and could have given a lot more than they did and also that we were not to be trusted to distribute it fairly across the employee population. According to the Negative Dominance Theory, if people generally don’t trust you or your organization, they will always say the glass is half empty and not half full. Some of this can just be chalked up to the fallen nature of human beings, but I have to believe that a major portion of the effect I saw was also a function of trust. <a href="https://billb-successadvisorygroup.medium.com/why-arent-you-listening-8673f853c593">Visit Now</a>