Having a boss who doesn’t communicate effectively can create a frustrating experience at work. Poor communication can lead to roles and responsibilities becoming unclear, and thus make it difficult to know what effectiveness in your job really looks like.
So, if you find yourself in a situation where you’re working for a boss that doesn’t communicate, you might be wondering if there’s anything that you can do.
To help you in this situation, we sourced responses from a variety of different career experts that provided their recommendations on different questions related to this topic.
Let’s dive in.
Why Do Managers Struggle With Communication?
“Individuals are promoted into management roles because they are good at their jobs as individual contributors. Unfortunately, more often times than not, this doesn’t translate into them being good at mentoring their direct reports. There is a huge learning curve in jumping from being responsible for your own quality of work to taking on managing others and being responsible for their outputs as well.”
The above content was provided by Melissa Trager. Founder, Resume All Day.
How Do I Know if My Boss Is a Poor Communicator?
“Poor communication from leadership can show up in a variety of ways and have a negative impact on productivity or quality of work.
Some indicators that this impacts your work culture includes:
- Confusion – there are consistent questions you don’t have answers to or information hasn’t been presented in a clear way.
- Mistakes / misalignment – resulted from the lack of access to necessary information.
- No clear direction – Either towards the overall goal or the clear and necessary details needed to execute your tasks effectively.
- Insecurity – feelings of anxiousness or being unsure about your standing in the team or quality of your work.”
The above content was provided by Kelly Whitaker, Communication Coach, Kelly Convos.
What Are Some Examples of Poor Communication in the Workplace?
“As a Sales Director, I witnessed numerous instances of poor workplace communication. One difficulty frequently arises when important information is hidden in lengthy, jargon-filled emails or reports, making it difficult for team members to extract what’s relevant. When supervisors fail to provide prompt and constructive criticism, another issue develops. Employees find it frustrating when they lack feedback and need to be made aware of how they are performing.”
The above content was provided by Derrick Hathaway, Sales Director, VEM Medical.
What Happens When Managers Fail to Communicate?
“Poor communication from managers can lead to:
- Decreased team morale and trust.
- Increased errors due to unclear instructions.
- Reduced efficiency as employees may need to redo tasks.
- A culture of speculation and gossip due to lack of clarity.
- Higher turnover rates as employees seek clearer communication elsewhere.”
The above content was provided by Nate Djeric, Career Counselor, Careerboost.
How Do You Deal With a Boss That Doesn’t Communicate?
“I believe it’s essential to try being the one to communicate when your boss isn’t great at it. Request them to schedule a one-on-one meeting for you when you have multiple issues or something major to discuss. Opt for face-to-face conversations over electronic media if you work on-site with them. If problems continue to pile up at work due to a persistent lack of communication from your manager, perhaps looking for a better employer would be the best option.”
The above content was provided by Anjela Mangrum President, Mangrum Career Solutions.
Conclusion
Working for a boss that doesn’t communicate is a tough position to be in. However, just because your boss doesn’t communicate effectively, it doesn’t mean you can’t take proactive steps to try and communicate with them more effectively.
To that end, take steps to schedule one-on-one meetings, over communicate with them, and ask for updates when you need them.
Hopefully, be taking proactive steps on your end, you can improve communication and get the support that you need.