Voice Matters And It Counts, Use It Wisely
Do you believe your voice matters? Have you ever thought that your communication is not heard or understood?
You’re certainly not alone.
It often feels best to be reflective of positive communication and positive interactions.
Have a great day.
Beautiful weather we’re having.
Great job in the meeting yesterday.
That is the type of communication most people are grateful for, they appreciate it, and welcome more of it.
Sometimes there are other forms of communication. Harsh, curt, or condescending.
And still, there are other forms, including aggressive, passive aggressive, or sarcasm.
Do all of these communications matter or only some of them?
Voice Matters
Your voice, what you say, what you do, how you act, it all becomes part of the organizational culture.
It is common that many businesses or organizations believe that their culture is only representative of what they want it to be. In other words, what they believe that are working towards is how it actually is.
This is often a root cause for why large-scale change efforts fail. When management believes that the culture, environment, and climate are representative of only what they say, and not what everyone does, it could spell trouble.
It is an easy trap to fall into.
Ask an organization leader how good their customer service is and they’ll probably tell you about a lot of success stories. Are they the best person to ask? Not really, the customers are the best people to ask.
Every organization is made up of both good and bad. While a focus on the good is favorable over a focus on the bad, pretending that the bad doesn’t exist often doesn’t make it go away.
Does your voice matter?
It matters either way.
You have a choice to make a positive and constructive impact or to become part of the problem.
You might think your voice doesn’t matter, yet every time your contributions are heard, that means someone was listening.
What happens next is conditioned by the people.
Good or bad.
Be the good voice.
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
