17 January 2024 On the second day of resuming regular activities, I find myself reflecting on the nuances of my communication skills—identifying areas where I excel and recognizing those in need of improvement.
As an IT manager, conveying expectations and providing feedback holds significant weight in my professional responsibilities. Feedback to superiors typically revolves around financial and technical health, while team members require clear guidance and constructive input.
Downward Communication: When disseminating information to colleagues and team members, I refer to this as communicating downward. The instructions received from higher-ups need to be articulated in a manner that is comprehensible to the technical teams.
Upward Communication: Conversely, when sharing information, especially feedback on the outcomes of instructions, I term it as communicating upward. This involves providing insights into project progress, task updates, operational health, encountered challenges, and more. Effectively executing these two types of communication demands a nuanced approach.
When communicating downward, my discourse is more open and relatable, tailored to the technical teams. I share information pertinent to their activities and deliverables. In contrast, when communicating upward, a more professional, concise, and high-level approach is adopted. Leadership is primarily concerned with understanding the overarching issues, their impact, our ability to manage them, and the need for assistance. Additionally, specifying concrete dates and times for required actions or resolutions is essential.
I take pride in having mastered this dual communication system, which I've honed through interactions with our CIO, VPs, CISO, and other stakeholders. Adapting the communication style to different audiences has been a valuable learning experience.
It is crucial to tailor messages to suit the distinct needs and comprehension levels of each audience.