Every Company is Experiencing Communication Poverty. What is the Solution?

• People Problems Are Communication Problems and They Need Attention Before It’s Too Late For Your Organization
• Poor Communication Leads Employees to Disengage
• Re-engaging Disaffected Teams Is As Simple As Creating Space For More Meaningful Communication at Work

We can’t be surprised that companies are losing millions of dollars a year to ‘people problems’, given the communication dead zone we live in. Our under-developed communication skills are the root to employee disengagement and lack of organizational commitment. So, what does this mean for business leaders?

As it turns out, a lot. Our communication deficits are costing businesses a great deal. We know that people aren’t motivated to work for people whom they perceive as treating them badly, so employees withdraw further. Currently, I don’t know many people who believe they’re being treated well at work, and most of the people I speak with don’t really care about what they do these days. The equation is simple: feeling uncared for + apathy + poor communication = checking out entirely. So, of course people are quiet quitting, fading out and going numb mentally and intellectually at work.

This means that business leaders have to work double time to retain employees and be successful.

The question is: why are we surprised by this apathy? The writing has been on the walls for years. We have to feel and critically think to feel good about anything we do and we stopped doing this because communicating vulnerably and intentionally feels very hard. The intrinsic value we used to get from a hard day’s work has been lost because our relational and organizational connections are simply not as strong as they once were.

All of this underscores the communication crisis we are in but also lights the path of how we can fix this. Until we start reengaging with other humans and ourselves, this problem will continue and get worse. If we don’t have human communication, we don’t receive affirmation or support, and we definitely won’t feel any loyalty to an organization or the people we work with. And frankly, why should we if we feel like interchangeable ‘assets’, rather than valued humans? We can and need to learn how to be human again. We need to embrace vulnerability so we can save empathy and re-humanize our companies.

This starts with each of us individually as leaders.

But in spite of how dire I believe the communication landscape is, I know there’s a great deal we can do to turn this tide, starting with a critical examination of our communication. I remind my clients that learning doesn’t stop in college and, instead, is a life-long pursuit, in which we get to continually improve how we communicate. Improved communication always leads to improved outcomes.

The solutions are quite easy. Take time to unplug and think. Put your phone down and listen. Have meaningful conversations. Give positive and constructive feedback. Relate to other people, in person as much as possible. Realize that humans are not replaceable parts to our organizations, they are the organization. Develop your people, build a culture that cultivates communication and relationships and use communication to build and foster growth, rather than to be reactive.

I’m a realist (but maybe that’s what pessimists say to feel better) and I know that firing up the generator of caring within each of us sounds like a lot of hard work. But the truth is, we already care, we just show very little of it, we internalize it and care more about ourselves than others. As humans, we need to be aware of our feelings, good and bad. We have a responsibility to recognize and affirm other people. We need to realize that we can disagree with someone and still respect them.

I’m not advocating that anyone starts hugging everyone and institute trust falls in the office – everything I teach and coach is grounded in science, research and results. I’m advocating for us to recognize and remember that we get further as a collective than as individuals, and the wealth of social science data around the world reminds us that how and what we communicate is at the heart of how far we can go.

Humans are social creatures, so let’s be social again. Stop with the apathy and give a ‘f*ck’. Let’s stop celebrating ruthlessness and instead, celebrate empathy, connection and logic. This starts with giving your employees opportunities to sharpen their communication skills, which empower them to be vulnerable, open and actively empathetic.

I know that we can still save the Republic. But if we don’t act now, the future is darker and scarier than what we’re currently experiencing, and that’s saying a lot. The longer we worship our machines, the more machine-like we will become.

It’s time to start practicing our communication skills with the intention of improving them. It is time to take stock in our relationships. It’s time we re-humanize ourselves and our organizations. This requires vulnerability and I say let’s unapologetically lean into it.

At the end of the first chapter in the book Team Human, Douglas Rushkoff writes, “It’s time to reassert the human agenda. And we must do so together-not as the individual players we have been led to imagine ourselves to be but as the team we actually are. Team Human.”

The solution for ‘the Republic’ as an abstract idea and for people who make, create, improve and mess up our society, businesses and relationships is not radical or complicated, it is very simple. I know what team I’m rooting for and working with, I just need others to join. Now, take the first step, put down your phone and reflect for 30 minutes with no distractions. I bet you’ll feel better after.