Miscommu­ni­cation

I like a clean and tidy home. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. I have, as you might know by now, three teenagers living in my house. Just as so many other kids aged 12, 14 and 16, they have mastered the art of giving some sort of absent-minded response to the essential issues regarding my clean-up wish (demand). Remarks about picking up shoes and bags that are lying around, doing homework, or cleaning the cat's litter box are usually answered with 'Sure, yeah... I'll do it later...' (exactly as in the NIX campaign). After which, usually, nothing happens.

To give my offspring a helping hand, I offer simple solutions about how to keep your own room somewhat tidy, or about doing homework and finishing it before midnight. In my view, they are simple, practical tips & tricks, such as 'throw your dirty laundry into the laundry basket instead of on the floor' and 'do your homework immediately when you come home from school'. It doesn't work. Most of the time, my advice is the opposite of what my kids believe to be the right solution. They ignore it without a second thought.

Or is there something else going on, I wondered. Is their rejection of my solutions more related to the fact that we don't agree on what the problem actually is? Or even stronger: they believe that there is no problem at all. Do I actually know what really matters to them?

The same applies to a company. What happens in my family (and in so many others) is basically a micro-representation of what goes on in a larger organisation. The cause of frustration and miscommunication often lies in expectations that are not shared. As it becomes apparent through various stories in this edition, this is also a crucial point with regard to the cleaning and disinfection work in a food manufacturing company.

The solution? Talk to each other! Not just via an App, email, or handover notebook, but also face to face. There is no need for endless meetings. But a regular consultation will be necessary. Explain what you expect of the cleaning process, listen carefully to what they expect from you, make clear agreements with each other.

In short: acknowledge the other person, don't just pass each other by. Right now, this works wonders in my micro-organisation.

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