Dive Brief:
- Managers should pay attention to the results from the new Interact/Harris Poll. 91% of employees say communication issues can drag executives down, according to the Havard Business Review.
- In the survey, conducted online with roughly 1,000 U.S. workers, participants called out business leaders for their poor emotional intelligence, including issues like micromanaging, bullying, narcissism, indecisiveness, and more.
- The data also shows that the vast majority of leaders are not engaging in crucial moments that could help employees see them as trustworthy.
Dive Insight:
This is startling, says author Lou Solomon, CEO at Interact, considering how much money organizations spend conducting employee surveys and reorganizations, engaging consultants and implementing change initiatives.
Solomon writes that effective leaders know that healthy communication requires connection — with inclusion, recognition, clear directions, meaningful interaction and feedback as the nerve center of the company.
She adds that much of a team’s success lies in the pattern of connection a leader has with direct reports, and the way he or she empowers them to extend that pattern down the line, and so on. In a business environment that is woefully lacking in employee commitment, leaders who aren’t actively connecting with people are themselves a liability. Something for HR leaders to ponder when arranging the next leadership training strategy.
