Originally written by Kerry for
tutorial
reference material, rewritten for
Communication Weekly which is no
longer online.
The General's
Story—a communication tip
The Army hired a communication consultant to improve communications,
specifically between and amongst the junior officers and enlisted
personnel.
The consultant asked the Generals how communication was between
themselves and their subordinates. Almost as though rehearsed they
replied that it was "pretty good." They all said they had an "Open Door
Policy." They sincerely felt as though they were there for their men.
The enlisted men could come in any time and talk about anything.
The consultant then asked the middle echelon officers, the Colonels
and Majors, what they thought. The officers said that they also had an
open door policy for their men and ensured that the policy was kept all
the way down the chain of command. They felt things were quite good with
senior officers, they were however, ". . . always aware of being
diplomatic and respectfully courteous when talking with them." They all
said they were more spontaneously honest with fellow ranking officers.
When the enlisted men were asked what they thought was the
communication problem in the military, they said they couldn't tell
their superiors the truth. They were always worried about promotions and
pretty much kept their opinions of their sergeants and officers to
themselves. The Open Door Policy? Yes, it's there, but who's going to
tell a Sergeant or a General the truth? Whenever possible, " . . . you
tell them what they want to hear." The point of the story is that no matter what the leadership of an
organization thinks, those dependent upon management for promotions and
survival withhold certain thoughts, the personal-growth feedback, the
stuff that really counts.
There is a communication model that supports open, honest, and
spontaneous communication; this way of relating (with its specific
agreements) is not taught in any university, college or
academy(classes, seminars, courses, workshops?—Yes! Leadership
Training?—No!)The proof? All
education majors were granted diplomas even though they all (yes
all) were withholding one or more significant thoughts from
someone of significance (specifically their parents). All, now as
teachers, are still deceiving someone; they are unaware of the
correlation between their integrity and the results they co-produce with
students and their parents.
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