This post features another excerpt from Ken Blanchard’s classic book, The Heart of a Leader, and is reprinted with permission. Managers who have positive expectations of their employees, as Blanchard advocates, enhance both internal communication and engagement.

 “Real communication happens when people feel safe.”

“Real communication is a product of trust. However, most of the performance review and evaluation systems used in organizations today create mistrust. They are based on a normal distribution mentality that insists there must always be winners and losers. That has never made sense to me.

“No organization makes a habit of hiring losers! You either hire winners (people you already know are good performers) or potential winners (people you think can become good performers). So why would you ever sort your people out into a normal distribution? Your job is to bring out their magnificence.

“Find ways to convince your people that you see them all as either winners or potential winners and you mean them no harm. When you do, you will find communication within your organization is greatly enhanced.”

© 1999 Ken Blanchard. The Heart of a Leader is published by David C. Cook. All rights reserved.