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Maintaining Mixed-Status Relationships

As we’ve seen, communicating competently in mixed-status relationships presents numerous challenges—whether you’re trying to influence a superior, praise a subordinate, or provide constructive criticism for an employee whose performance is inadequate. But a broader challenge is maintaining these relationships. Maintaining mixed-status relationships requires you to do two things (Albrecht & Bach, 1997). First, with your supervisor and subordinates, develop and follow communication rules for what’s appropriate to talk about as well as when and how to communicate. For example, supervisors who think their subordinates agree with them on how they should communicate tend to rate those subordinates higher on overall performance than subordinates who hold different beliefs about communication (Albrecht & Bach, 1997). Communication rules govern matters such as how often a supervisor and subordinate meet to discuss work projects, whether communications are formal or informal, and which channels (e-mail, instant-messaging, texting, printed memos, face-to-face conversations) are the most appropriate.

Second, communicate in consistent and reliable ways. This means displaying a stable and professional manner with supervisors and subordinates rather than allowing personal problems or moods to influence your communication. It also means being punctual, following through on appointments and promises, and keeping confidences. Consistency builds trust, an essential component of any interpersonal relationship, and a perception that you’re “trustworthy” will feed into other positive perceptions of you as well, including your integrity, openness, and competence (Albrecht & Bach, 1997).