This cast describes how to combat the normal tendency of directs to communicate LESS during a downturn.

We're releasing this cast in the spring of 2020, during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.

During economic downturns, directs communicate less to us, their bosses. They're more afraid to disagree, they're more afraid to suggest different ways of doing things. This is a natural human response to the known and unknown stresses both internal and external. Look, if someone fears the changes they don't know are coming . . . they're not going to introduce MORE change into their portion of the universe. They're going to hunker down or panic, frankly, in our experience.

If you've ever been having a bad day, and when someone asked you how you were you said "fine" in a flat low response, you know how and why they're doing it. We've seen folks literally cross their arms during a meeting when asked a direct question, based on layoff rumors going around an office.

We used strong language to introduce this cast - "How to COMBAT the normal tendency of less communication". We meant to use that word. It's our job as managers to communicate. It's our most frequently used manager tool, overall, and to have it attenuated reduces our effectiveness.

As managers, we need some simple things we can do to pry open those lines of communication. And pry we will.

 

This Cast Answers These Questions

  • How can I help my team during an downturn?
  • What should I be communicating about during a downturn?
  • How should I be be communicating about during a downturn?

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