Guest Post: Avoiding Misunderstandings in the Workplace

Conflict at work can lead to all sorts of awkward situations. Misunderstandings can arise from the simplest of mistakes and if you do not handle them delicately, things can snowball.

On a day-to-day basis, you are dealing with different types of personalities, whether it is your employees, suppliers, clients or contractors. In addition, if you are the boss or manager, it is important to keep everybody on the same page.

Communication plays a big role when you are trying to keep everyone in the loop. Follow these tips to keep things running smoothly avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.

Plan regular meetings

When you are dealing with people on a regular basis, it is a good idea to schedule meetings with them to keep updated on any happenings. Even if it is just a casual chat over coffee, making an effort to nurture your work relationships will help you in the end. If they are a supplier, there could be things brewing on their end that might affect you. Having regular meetings keeps everybody in the loop about changes or problems that might be cropping up. Surprises are one of the biggest culprits of misunderstandings so make sure you are forthcoming as well.

You might want to send out regular progress reports and email updates as well if you are working on something large or long term.

Seek Input

If you need to make an important decision about something, try to get input from people that are directly affected by the decision. The more opinions you have, the greater understanding you will have of any issues that might arise. You do not need to go overboard asking everybody’s opinion but if you think that, someone might be upset with your choices it is better to be upfront. If you are planning for big changes, make sure you get input from people during the initial planning stage as well.

Manage expectations

Some of the biggest misunderstandings seem to arise when expectations are not met. While you can have an idea in your own mind, another person’s perceptions can be completely different. Make sure to be clear in your communications. If you discuss something over the phone, follow it up with an email so you have something in writing. If you are delivering something to a client, make sure they understand exactly what they are getting. You might think its overkill going over every detail but take into account that other people will have different priorities. It all comes down to closing the expectation gap. The more aligned you are about what is going to happen and the end result, the less room there’ll be for any misunderstandings.

Be mindful

Sometimes we can be caught up in our busy lives that we miss things. We also forget that others have busy lives too. Be aware that misunderstandings usually stem from small events. Focus more on moving forward rather than assigning blame. It is also a good strategy to avoid overreacting. Having an emotional response is natural but many of the times unnecessary.  People are not generally out to get you or trying to be difficult. Take a realistic look at the situation and be mindful of the other person.

Communication, particularly in the workplace, is a complex interaction. When misunderstandings do occur, it can cause tension and generally affects productivity. Keeping everybody on the same page about your expectations and what is happening in the office can help you avoid any unnecessary awkwardness.

It is not always easy handling these kinds of situations and prevention is the best cure. Managing a business ultimately comes down to nurturing relationships so follow these tips to become a better communicator and avoid any communication mishaps.

Maki is a feature writer for Project Manager, a provider of online project management software to customers in more than 100 countries.