Some managers go to the opposite extreme-giving directives with no consideration for the employees. Many employees have excellent ideas; in fact, they may have more expertise about their particular job than the supervisor does. It is a foolish manager who doesn't seek out such ideas or who overrides suggestions without consideration. Such a person can be seen as a despot. Certainly this is not conducive to cooperation, rapport, and productivity. And although at first glance such people may seem confident, upon closer observation they are often revealed to have an abrasive facade covering a lack of confidence. Such a person is not respected but feared. Managers who have genuine confidence reserve decisions until they have carefully evaluated the situation. Part of a careful evaluation includes eliciting the opinions and suggestions of the employees involved. The confident manager will give a directive only when there is a high probability that it is the most appropriate one. Nothing is more damaging than leaping into a situation without adequate information and giving orders that will have to be retracted later.
There is a step-by-step process that can resolve most of the problems in giving directives. The acronym DAD stands for three important steps: Describe, Ask for clarification, and Direct. Describe the problem situation objectively to your subordinate, ask how that person feels about the situation and what suggestions he or she might have, then give the directive. The DAD components provide a guide line for giving a directive with authority.
You begin the directive process by describing to your subordinate the situation or the problem in question. Be objective and specific and, whenever possible, describe observable behaviors. Suppose there have been complaints that a male employee has been making flirtatious advances toward several of the married women in the office, creating tension. If you say, "You know, Bob, you’ve been latching after the ladies around here," chances are that Bob will react negatively to this description. Avoid inferring motives; simply describe overt behavior: "You know. Bob, I’ve noticed that you frequently talk with the women during work hours and you’ve asked a couple of them out on dates." Likewise, avoid judgmental or emotional labels: "Betty, that feasibility report was the most half-assed thing I've seen in years." A better description would be: "Betty, that feasibility report was vague and confusing in several places. It left me with a lot of questions." Finally, avoid vague terms such as, "You have a bad attitude." Use simple, concrete terms: "You have made a number of negative remarks about the company." Don't make accusations-this only puts the employee on the defensive and reduces the possibility that your directive will be followed cooperatively.
Next, ask employees how they feel about the situation and find out what suggestions they might have. If an employee is new to your unit or if asking for clarification is new to you, then you'll need to work a little at this step. Employees may not believe you are sincerely interested in their ideas and feelings, and may dismiss the question as patronizing. Remember, you want to find out the employee's position; otherwise there is no point in asking it at all. If that individual is reluctant to state an opinion or communicate feelings, or if what he or she says is vague, incomplete, or confusing, use the techniques for gathering information. By asking for clarification you communicate to the employee concern and interest in his or her ideas. Once you have set a precedent of asking for clarification, you will be amazed at how differently you see situations from those who work under you. And the quality of suggestions you'll receive will probably surprise you.
Once you have clarified the employee's position, you are ready to direct. You now know how the employee feels and what that person thinks ought to be done. Frequently, an employee's suggestions will be exactly the same as the directive you would have given had you not used the DAD method. Great! All you have to do, then, is to agree that this suggestion is the best course of action! At other times, the employee's feelings or suggestions will differ from what you have anticipated. Sometimes the suggestion will be one you hadn't previously considered; sometimes the suggestion will be one you must reject. Here, of course, you hold the final authority, but whatever directive you give, the employee will be much more likely to be cooperative in following it.
Remember to state the directive as a simple declarative sentence. Avoid the disqualifying prefaces, the weak expletives, the tag-questions, and the request formation. You'll get the best results if you use simple, concrete terms and avoid vague generalities: The clearer the directive, the less opportunity for confusion and error. Whenever there is any possibility of confusion, ask for clarification a second time to determine whether or not the directive was understood. When you use DAD, the employee feels included in the decision and consequently will be much more likely to cooperate in following the action you have decided upon. And you will be less likely to find yourself in the awkward position of having misread the situation and thereby demanded an inappropriate or ineffective action.
Clearly, the situation with John was loaded. He had just lost two "good people" and it was at least partially because of his own behavior. John was probably feeling more than a little defensive at the beginning of the conference with his supervisor. However, the situation was defused by using DAD, because possible morale problems were not mentioned. Speculating about future dire consequences would have only aggravated John's insecurity. And since John actually brought out the communication problem himself, he was more receptive to the directive to attend the seminar than if the supervisor had jumped to the conclusion that there was a communication problem.
It's pretty easy to guess what will happen here. If the typist doesn't quit or get fired, the manager will probably find all kinds of typos, incorrect spellings, and deletions in the final copy. Furthermore, neither the typist nor the manager will forget the argument. By giving a directive too soon, this manager has created a problem. Let's see how it would sound with the use of DAD principles.
The typist was overloaded with work and probably not too receptive to an additional job. The DAD process, however, helped to obtain willing cooperation. The Describe step enabled the typist to understand the manager's predicament and the importance of getting the grant application completed as soon as possible. The Ask for clarification step conveyed the manager's concern and elicited the problem with Montgomery's transcripts. Thus, it was easy for the manager to give the directive. The typist was cooperative and even volunteered to work late to complete the grant.
Body Language and Voice Quality
Up to this point I have emphasized the importance of selecting words that enhance your authority, but listeners are influenced by nonverbal communication as well. Such things as eye contact, posture, gestures, and tone of voice will influence your subordinates' perceptions of you. Because there are a number of very detailed books on the market that discuss nonverbal communication, I will not go into this area in depth.
In general, however, it is important to maintain good eye contact with your subordinate when you are using the DAD technique. Staring fixedly into a person's eyes will make you seem aggressive and will make the other person uncomfortable. On the other hand, not looking at that individual at all, blinking rapidly, or squinting suggests that you are uncomfortable and unsure of yourself. Strive for a "soft" gaze about the inner core of the subordinate's face as you speak and listen facial expressions that suggest relaxation and receptivity are the most helpful. Wrinkling your forehead, pursing your mouth, swallowing, clearing your throat, wetting your lips-all suggest tension.
If you feel tense while using the DAD process with an employee, concentrate momentarily on a relaxing scene. Tension can also be communicated through your posture and gestures. If you cover your mouth when you speak, scratch your head, rub your eyes or the back of your neck, preen, play with jewelry or papers, or adjust your clothing, you need to learn to keep your hands under control. An easy approach is either to fold your hands or to keep them in your pockets. Sharon and Gordon Bower suggest that you can break these annoying habits by speaking while holding two objects, one in each hand. Finally, shifting your weight from foot to foot and pacing about can also communicate nervousness. The easiest way to control these nervous habits is to seat yourself in a chair or on the corner of a desk while delivering your directive.
According to the Bowers, the quality of your voice can enhance the authority of your directive or detract from it. If you speak rapidly, it will convey impatience or anger, whereas speaking slowly connotes hesitancy or fear. A flat, monotonous voice is difficult to listen to for any length of time because it is dull and uninteresting. Friendliness, on the other hand, is conveyed through warmth and modulation. If you're too loud, you may seem aggressive; if you're too soft, you may sound timid. It is actually quite difficult for you to evaluate the quality of your voice while you're speaking: It sounds perfectly natural and comfortable. Ask a friend for feedback, or make a tape recording of yourself speaking and listen to it a day or so later. If you find some of these problems in your voice, consider taking a speech or drama class. You'll find the gains in voice control will easily repay the investment of time and money.
Short of a formal class, however, you can begin working on your breathing and voice strength. Breathing, of course, is important to the quality of your speech. Problems with breathing can occur because you are tense, in which case you will tend to breathe in shallow, rapid spurts. Once you have mastered the relaxation technique, you can think to yourself, "Relax," and momentarily visualize your relaxing scene while you are in the tension-producing situation. One popular exercise that will help you breathe correctly is to deliberately push out the area below your ribs (your diaphragm) as you inhale. If you do this just as you inhale, placing your hand over the area, it will be forced out a little. Practice pushing your hand out as you inhale. Do this several times a day.
You can improve your vocal strength by learning to control your use of air as you produce sounds. Sharon Bower recommends practicing the following exercise for several short sessions each day: Standing erect, put one hand flat on your diaphragm; use a finger of the other hand to close one ear (with one ear closed you can hear the quality of your voice better). Take a deep breath (push the diaphragm down), and then say "Ah" for as long as your breath lasts. Note the number of seconds you can say "Ah." Count off seconds by thinking "Mississippi 1, Mississippi 2," etc. Record your time during each session. Your goal is to produce the sound steadily for at least 45 seconds. Once you have achieved your goal using the "Ah" sound, repeat the procedure for the other vowels-E, I, O, and U.
Conclusion
When used excessively, weak expletives, tag-questions, disqualifying prefaces, and directives stated as requests can undermine your authority in the eyes of subordinates. The basic rule of thumb is to avoid using these speech patterns except when you have a specific purpose for doing so. The DAD process is a useful guideline for giving a directive. It enables you to convey to employees the problem situation, to elicit their reaction and suggestions, and to give a directive in such a way that it maximizes the possibility that the employees will follow the directive cooperatively.
