Understanding Email Dos and Don’ts with DISC

Consider the ways you communicate for business in the 21^st century. In all likelihood, you meet with people directly; you call them on the phone; you email and instant message them from your computer, smart phone or tablet; and you’re probably also using social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter. We now have more ways than ever before to communicate with our networks, and we have the capacity to communicate clearly and effectively, or to be misunderstood.

The Huffington Post publisheda comical, yet relevant, article featuring the six ways you can offend, anger and annoy your coworkers via email. Not surprisingly to those of us who study behavioral science, the number one and number two offenders were “sending a novel” and “sending a two-word email.” Think about the last few emails you’ve sent in the workplace. Had you ever considered that your lengthy message discussing your position on a current issue might be better received as a face-to-face communication where multiple parties can give and take? While you may feel your robust, yet professional, communication is effectively defining your opinion, what kind of conversation might you be encouraging or discouraging? Whether the communication is occurring between team members or between employee and supervisor, there is the opportunity for you as the writer to come across as overly opinionated, controlling and even self-promoting.

The two-word emails, however, can perhaps cause more unnecessary stress on an employee-supervisor relationship, particularly if the employee is on the receiving end of a brief response.  Picture a new employee spending a number of hours on a project, and her proposal comes back from her supervisor via email with two words: “It’s fine.” From the supervisor’s perspective, that’s all that needs to be said. The work is good, and there’s much in his division that needs to be done. The supervisor is happy with the proposal and wants his employee to get going on the project, not realizing that his abrupt response of “it’s fine” may cause his employee unnecessary stress. “Is it just fine? Do I need to improve it? Is my work meeting his expectations?” — These are just some of the concerns that can easily sprout from a simple, two word email, particularly if the employee prefers more in-depth responses.

There are very few businesses today not using email to communicate internally, so if you manage others, what can you do to ensure yourteam is communicating effectively with each other? While the Huffington Post article pointed out a few of the more common e-communication culprits, there’s so much we can learn about our own communication style (and the styles of our employees) that will help us be more effective in the workplace.

The study of Behaviors (DISC) can quickly and easily provide teams with an avenue to make intentional adaptations in communicating with others in the workplace. If you’re interested in understanding how behavioral styles impact workplace communications, start by taking a DISC assessment: http://vantagegroupinc.com/contactform.html