Communication and interpersonal skills

Understand how communication and interpersonal skills affect managerial performance in the workplace Evaluate how interpersonal skills and communication skills affect managerial performance 2.1It is self-evident that communication and interpersonal skills are crucial in the workplace.

Good two-way communication is important to enable the flow of information in an effective way whether it be verbal or non-verbal.

Good communication has a positive impact on the performance of the team including; everyone is clear what is expected from them, they receive good feedback and recognition of achievements which makes staff feel valued and boosts employee morale.

The manager needs to be approachable and have a non-threatening manner so staff feel at ease when discussing any issues or concerns. Good interpersonal relations encourage open behaviour where everyone is working as a team and supporting each other with a common sense of purpose.

When goals and objectives are clearly set, with colleagues feeling involved and motivated, it has the overall effect of connecting each staff member and enabling team work.

All of this results in a much stronger performance from the organisation as a whole, delivering high quality dental care in a happy relaxed environment and inevitably It will be much more successful in achieving its goals Poor communication results in staff being unclear of objectives, de-motivated and giving the impression of disinterest or even arrogance.

Failure to communicate effectively often leads to conflict and the spread of rumours can begin to circulate which can harm a business internally as well as externally. It would be impossible to achieve the practice’s goals and objectives if there is significant conflict in the workplace. Boredom and a negative attitude also influence an employee’s receptiveness to a message. Overall poor communication and interpersonal skills have an adverse and counterproductive effect.

Provide an evaluation of two or more strategies to overcome barriers to effective managerial communication and interpersonal skills. 2.2 In a small practice with part-time team members there is a high possibility of communication failure for example; messages not being passed on at all or incorrectly, decisions made earlier in the week without involvement or reference to all colleagues.

This may result in mixed perceptions or feelings of marginalisation. To overcome this barrier, staff meetings are to be held on dates where all staff can attend. If this is not possible the minutes of the meeting should be written out and forwarded on to the appropriate people. It is also important to seek feedback regularly to check the message has been conveyed in a clear and concise way.

Forums and emails are an efficient mechanism for short, chatty updates. It is also a good method of quickly communicating messages to several people and allowing further discussion with feedback and input. Another communication barrier that could occur would be staff not being clear of tasks that have been set for them to do by the busy, Principal Dentist. If this is done in an ad hoc, informal manner the tasks may not be done in the correct way or simply keep being rolled forward. To help overcome this barrier, I would need to ascertain from the Principal exactly what is required and when.

I would then devise a rigorous schedule with clear step-by-step guide on what needs to be achieved. I would negotiate with individuals and delegate specific tasks depending on the skills required. The schedule would record who has been made responsible and have a checklist to be signed against. This would be displayed in a prominent position for example the staff room or a whiteboard. Once the job has been completed I can then report back within the time frame that the Dentist requires.