Imagine being in a different country and not understanding a word. Not because you don’t speak the language, but because everyone talks too fast.
Face-to-face conversations can be difficult to follow or keep up with because of how much people diverge, go on tangents, and so on.
This isn’t as much the case with writing:
- Responses are more focused
- The pace slows down
- And you can reread as needed
As an introverted engineering manager (EM), this is especially valuable to me. With a very high amount of new information being delivered to me daily, leveraging my natural tendency to write over talking saves my focus and peace.
It can do the same for you, boosting your productivity and efficiency. But this isn’t something you can do one way. You need others to buy in. Who better than your fellow managers?
How to make async communication the new normal
Making written communication the new normal might be tough, depending on your company's culture. If your leaders prefer verbal communication or if you don’t have any “communication rules” to teach others how to interact with you, this will probably take some effort.
You might also face some resistance from other managers. The key here is to not just tell them to change – it’s showing them the value of doing so.
The best way to do this is by implementing it with your team first. You will then have proof and testimonials on how it saves time, protects deep work, creates autonomy, and so on.
So, combine:
- Evidence and stories of success from others
- Examples from your communication with well-thought-out messages and the results they created
- And practice by insisting on async communication instead of jumping to meetings whenever a problem arises
Best practices for async communication
The above elements will slowly change how everyone communicates around and with you. Help them to improve by offering suggestions on what they can do better next time, such as:
- Including all the necessary information and context (more on this below): A more complete message leads to better answers and fewer questions on the receiving person’s end.
- Numbering multiple questions or list items: This creates a more organized flow of information.
- Not repeating information from previous messages: Shorter and more concise information leads to less confusion.
- Including links: Short, clickable links to documents or other important files makes the conversation easier.
- Always being patient: Texts and emails don’t convey emotions. Even if you don’t get emotional, others might and could take messages as attacks. Remind everyone to make the intent clear (such as with emojis), clarify further when needed, and ask more questions.
Obstacles you’ll face and how to overcome them
If we lived in a world with only introverts, everyone would likely prefer to send you an email or message to solve a problem instead of rushing to your office to schedule a meeting or asking for “only 10 minutes of your time.”
We don’t live in that world, though, and that’s a good thing. But trying to even bring part of that world into this one is tough, if only due to the many challenges you’ll need to overcome.
You do have advantages, though, such as your empathy. Use it to understand others’ resistance to your suggestions. After all, communicating verbally is as uncomfortable for you as writing is to them.
So, start there.
1 – Many people prefer talking to writing
Writing organizes the mind and, more often than not, gives people the answers they were coming to you for anyway. A simple email or Slack message forces someone to:
- Think about the reason they’re sending a message
- Explain their problem in a clear and organized way
- Include any solutions they’ve already tried
- And conclude with a concise question (if they even still have one!)
This is obviously harder and not as immediate as calling and asking someone else for the solution, so other managers and your team will naturally resist.
Again, the key is showing the value of the switch. There will be fewer distractions and interruptions for everyone, and you will find that while implementing this in your team, they will also become more proactive as they find answers on their own. They will begin to feel more independent and even confident as well.
There’s another bonus, too: you can learn more about how different people communicate without the stress of a live conversation. So, when you eventually meet with leaders and peer managers to discuss various important topics, you’re more prepared to engage with them no matter how difficult the conversation.
2 – Some people want synchronous conversations
A while ago, we were having some technical problems. Someone on my team wanted help to solve this. Before jumping on an hour-long call, I asked him to explain the problem in a text message.
He told me what was happening and the steps he had already taken to solve it. In three minutes, I read the message and asked some questions, and in ten or fifteen minutes, the problem was solved. Written communication worked perfectly in this situation because this person didn’t want my attention – he wanted my help.
However, people sometimes want your attention and send fifty instant messages with ten words each. So, you stay online, waiting for the next message, maybe even replying as they come. My advice: don’t engage in that conversation, or it will never be over.
By replying and waiting, you transform an async conversation into a synchronous one and lose all the benefits that come with the former. Instead, let them finish their messages, do something else, and then read everything and reply when you can.
3 – Some people struggle with providing context
Another common obstacle when implementing an async system is the lack of context in messages.
If someone texts you asking a general question about a problem you know nothing about, it’s easy to get frustrated and go back to the old ways. After all, meetings, even though they’re painfully long and disturb your focus, can seem to work better at getting the information you need.
Instead, be persistent and ask questions. They can be as simple as:
- What do you mean?
- How so?
- I’m not up to date with that. Can you explain the situation?
- Can you describe the problem in detail so I can give you a better answer?
Doing so will also help others think through the problem on their own and learn how to send better messages next time. And keep in mind they may not have had to do this before. Not because they can’t but because no one has asked it of them. If they’re struggling, show them what you do.
By insisting on this new way of communicating, everyone wins: you both save time by avoiding unnecessary meetings, and other managers also improve their thinking process.
4 - Misunderstood intents and emotions
90% of all workplace misunderstandings start with emails. You can easily apply this to any kind of written workplace communication, such as using Slack.
You also probably already know why: written communication has no emotion. So, it’s easy to read something and think it’s an attack.
Some people, perhaps like yourself, are pretty good about not overthinking this, though. They give others the benefit of the doubt until they can’t anymore. But some spend days wondering about something as simple as a period at the end of a sentence.
So, part of pushing for async communication is showing others the value of:
- Emojis, which add some visual representation of what you’re feeling
- Clarifying every complex term or directive, especially if they’re dubious
- And asking questions to understand what someone’s feeling when they send a message
However, it’s not your responsibility to take care of other people’s feelings. People should self-monitor and regulate as the functional adults they are.
You can and should always do your best to help them as a fellow manager, of course, but don’t feel pressured to become their psychologist, too. Just the same as they shouldn’t feel pressured to become yours.
What if other managers don’t want to adapt?
If someone doesn’t want to adjust their communication, you can’t force them. Sometimes, people are comfortable with what they know, and that’s not always a bad thing.
Also, keep in mind that most people aren’t intentionally bad at async communication. They are busy (and probably overwhelmed!), so instead of a well-thought-out message, they end up sending a rushed, unclear text that forces you to ask lots of follow-up questions or call them to understand their needs.
Over time, by gently guiding other managers on how to communicate more clearly, they usually see the value of doing it and start making an effort. After all, you aren’t doing it for your sake – you’re doing it for everyone’s.
However, sometimes, there are some rare cases when people don’t want to adapt due to negative feelings towards you. Don’t overthink this, as you may be prone to do.
You can obviously talk to the other person to solve old grudges or even take it to your supervisor if you think it’s necessary, but sometimes it’s better not to poke the bear.
The short version: async communication can be the new norm
Several obstacles exist between you, your fellow managers, and a culture of async communication:
- People preferring to talk
- Some people wanting synchronous conversations (even written ones)
- Some people struggling with providing enough context
- And others misunderstanding (or doing a poor job clarifying) intent with their messages
But you can overcome these obstacles and increase the amount of async communication everyone uses as well as how well they do so. This, of course, starts with you and your team and showing the value of this process.
So, show how async communication:
- Reduces wasted time
- Increase productivity
- And improves clarity in conversation
And show how to do so, such as:
- Including all the necessary information and context
- Numbering multiple questions or list items
- Not repeating information from previous messages
- Including links
- Being patient
- And clearly communicating emotion and intent
Over time, with enough practice and gentle guidance, you’ll show other managers (and your team) the value of async communication. Some will resist no matter what, but that’s okay. Even a little bit of progress is something.
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Originally published on Medium.com
Content in this blog post by Alex Ponomarev is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
