Equally important to patient safety and customer service are the risks associated with miscommunication between coworkers, colleagues, managers, and employees.
At the heart of communication is trust. Trust relies on honesty, openness, and fairness in communication. Miscommunication, intentional or otherwise, can easily result in a breakdown of trust. Being dishonest, inconsistent, and unfair, will very quickly erode the trust in a relationship.
Miscommunication may also be the result of cultural and social differences. Actions, verbal and non-verbal communication may be incorrectly interpreted when the individuals originate from different cultures and ethnic or socioeconomic backgrounds. When all communicants are aware of this potential, the risk of miscommunication diminishes.
It is a widely known concept that employees do not leave their jobs. They leave their work environments and, more specifically, the managers. This is often directly related to how their manager functions as a communicator.
Let's look at a final case scenario.
Case Scenario 4
The manager delegates to the direct report the task of completing the monthly quality assurance (QA) monitor. The manager does not communicate the expectations and the direct report does not ask for clarification because they do not want to look untrustworthy to complete the task. Because both failed to effectively communicate, the QA monitor was not completed correctly or on time, leaving both the manager and the direct report frustrated.
It is easy to see how this scenario can potentially break down the trust between a manager and a direct report. The manager may have been left thinking that the employee was not able to complete the task and the employee may not offer to complete other projects in the future.
