Talk and Development
As a number of studies have documented (Kotter, 1990; Mintzberg, 1973; Stewart, 1985), talk is the most frequent activity of managers. Some say that as much as 75 percent of a manager’s day is spent in conversation (for instance, Gronn, 1983).
Yet, for all this, there is a sense that something is wrong with the way people talk to each other at work—something is artificial, false, or at least unsatisfying much of the time. They often think to themselves that they have to be careful about what they say and to whom they say it. There are things that might be said privately, to a trusted colleague, that cannot be said publicly. On the other hand, people sometimes say something publicly that they realize they do not really believe; ...
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