Mind the (Generation) Gap, Part 2: The Game of Telephone
By Colleen Gallion
In my previous column in the November 2024 issue, I invited you to question your assumptions about what it means to have a good work ethic, to practice curiosity, to embrace what works for your team and your customers, and to ditch the rest in service of a stronger team. Now that your team is on the same page about work styles, let’s talk about communication styles.
Once upon a time in the not-so-distant past, you had three choices for communication: Talk on the phone, write a letter, or meet in person. Now, communication requires a decision tree. Call or send a text? Meet in person or via Zoom? Are cameras on or off? Should I send an email or reach out via chat? It’s infuriating! Now add to this the additional layer of generational and cultural preferences.
I vividly remember a session with a client struggling with her team's younger members. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told them to call me if they have any questions, and they never do,” she said. “Then I get peppered all day with these random questions via Slack. Why can’t they just pick up the phone?” Talking on the phone versus text, email, or direct message may feel trivial, but it can create major headaches within a team. This is especially true if the team is distributed or working remotely. How can you ensure that the right people have the right information at the right time when there are so many potential ways to share information?
Personal communication etiquette rules
When you send a text instead of making a phone call, an internalized “rule” probably is at play. For example, I don’t call someone unless the communication is urgent and complex enough that I want to make sure I’m answering the other person’s questions in real time. This isn’t a rule I consciously created, but it’s there.
This also means that when I see an incoming call, I unconsciously assume that the person has something urgent and complex to communicate, so if you are just calling to say, “Hi,” I’ll probably be annoyed. None of this is conscious or rational, but it’s real, and we all do it.
Here are some other sometimes contradictory examples I’ve heard over the years:
• Emojis are unprofessional.
• Emojis are friendly.
• Listening to voicemail is annoying, so I don’t leave voicemail if the call is missed.
• Asking someone a question via chat is polite because they can answer it when they have time.
• Getting questions via chat is annoying because it blinks at me until I answer them.
• I’d rather have someone stop by my office than send me an email.
• I’d rather get an email than get ambushed at my desk.
As you can see, plenty of room for miscommunication exists in our world of multiple communication paths.
Here are some questions to get you thinking about communication channels:
• How should we communicate if the matter is urgent?
• What kind of information needs to be in writing?
• Are there channels that should not be used for business communication?
Talk with your team
Use the questions above as the jumping-off point for a team conversation. Pay attention to where there is alignment and where there are conflicts.
There are no wrong approaches; this is just about understanding the patterns within your team. You may be surprised at how strong people’s opinions are on what gets communicated via which method.
Create a communications guide
One of the biggest challenges in modern communication is what I like to call “double dipping.” This is when someone decides to send the same information via multiple channels. With a communications guide, you and your team can know which communication channel is used.
Here’s part of a guide from a team I took through this process:
• All work-related communication happens via e-mail or Microsoft Teams. We do not text each other or our clients regarding work-related issues.
• We acknowledge Teams messages within the hour if our status is “active” and provide an ETA on a complete response if the issue can’t be resolved immediately.
• We update our status, so people have an accurate idea of when we see emails and Teams messages.
• All emails should be responded to within one business day.
When I checked in with the team after they implemented the guide, they reported that their productivity had improved, and team cohesion had improved dramatically. They had even created a playful way of reminding each other to follow the guide; if they sent a text or didn’t update their status, someone on the team would send them the “poop” emoji. It’s good to know that some things are universal no matter what generation you’re in.
COLLEEN GALLION is an ICF-certified professional coach whose passion is supporting entrepreneurs and founders in building healthy and sustainable teams. For more information, visit www.gallioncoaching.com.
