SAMPLE. Not for training purposes. Student Workbook. BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships.

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1 Student Workbook BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1 st Edition 2015 Part of a suite of support materials for the BSB Business Services Training Package

2 Copyright and Trade Mark Statement All rights reserved. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher, Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd ( IBSA ). Use of this work for purposes other than those indicated above, requires the prior written permission of IBSA. Requests should be addressed to the Product Development Manager, IBSA, Level 11, 176 Wellington Pde, East Melbourne VIC 3002 or sales@ibsa.org.au. Innovation and Business Skills Australia, IBSA and the IBSA logo are trade marks of IBSA. Disclaimer Care has been taken in the preparation of the material in this document, but, to the extent permitted by law, IBSA and the original developer do not warrant that any licensing or registration requirements specified in this document are either complete or up-to-date for your State or Territory or that the information contained in this document is error-free or fit for any particular purpose. To the extent permitted by law, IBSA and the original developer do not accept any liability for any damage or loss (including loss of profits, loss of revenue, indirect and consequential loss) incurred by any person as a result of relying on the information contained in this document. The information is provided on the basis that all persons accessing the information contained in this document undertake responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of its content. If this information appears online, no responsibility is taken for any information or services which may appear on any linked websites, or other linked information sources, that are not controlled by IBSA. Use of versions of this document made available online or in other electronic formats is subject to the applicable terms of use. To the extent permitted by law, all implied terms are excluded from the arrangement under which this document is purchased from IBSA, and, if any term or condition that cannot lawfully be excluded is implied by law into, or deemed to apply to, that arrangement, then the liability of IBSA, and the purchaser s sole remedy, for a breach of the term or condition is limited, at IBSA s option, to any one of the following, as applicable: (a) (b) if the breach relates to services: (i) re-supplying; or (ii) paying the cost of re-supplying, the services. Published by: Innovation and Business Industry First published: March 2015 Skills Council Ltd 1 Level 11 st edition version: Wellington Pde Release date: March 2015 East Melbourne VIC 3002 Phone: Fax: reception@ibsa.org.au ISBN: Stock code: BSBLDR5021W if the breach relates to goods: (i) repairing; (ii) replacing; or (iii) paying the cost of repairing or replacing, the goods; or

3 Table of Contents Introduction...1 Features of the training program...1 Structure of the training program...1 Recommended reading...1 Section 1 Manage Communication and Information Flow...3 What skills will you need?...3 Establish communication strategies and processes...4 Communication strategies or plans...5 Develop consultative processes Policies and procedures for dispute management Section summary Further reading Section checklist Section 2 Establish Organisational Values and Maintain Networks What skills will you need? Establish organisational values Understand and manage sources of diversity Build personal trust Use effective interpersonal communication Use networks to solve problems and grow Section summary Further reading Section checklist Section 3 Manage Difficulties in Work Relationships What skills will you need? Implement strategies to resolve workplace conflict Establish systems for managing conflict Provide guidance and support to co-workers Plan actions to address conflict Section summary Further reading Section checklist Glossary BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1 st edition version: 1

4 Appendices Appendix 1: Max Lionel Realty simulated business Appendix 2: Communication plan template Appendix 3: Grievance policy and procedure Appendix 4: Managing people; be insistent, persistent and consistent Appendix 5: Coaching contract st edition version: 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships

5 Student Workbook Introduction Introduction Features of the training program The key features of this program are: Student Workbook Self-paced learning activities to help you to develop an understanding of key concepts and terms. The Student Workbook is broken down into several sections. Facilitator-led sessions Challenging and interesting learning activities that can be completed in the classroom or by distance learning that will help you consolidate and apply what you have learned in the Student Workbook. Assessment Tasks Summative assessments where you can apply your new skills and knowledge to solve authentic workplace tasks and problems. Structure of the training program This training program introduces you to lead and manage effective workplace relationships. Specifically, you will develop the skills and knowledge in the following topic areas: 1. Manage communication and information flow 2. Establish organisational values and maintain networks 3. Manage difficulties in work relationships. Your facilitator may choose to combine or split sessions. For example, in some cases, this Training Program may be delivered in two or three sessions, or in others, as many as eight sessions. Recommended reading Some recommended reading for this unit includes: Barton, P., 2014, Maximizing Internal Communication: strategies to turn heads, win hearts, engage employees and get results, ebook edn, BookBaby. Caruso, D. and Salovey, P., 2004, The emotionally intelligent manager: how to develop and use the four key emotional skills of leadership, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Cole, K., 2012, Management: theory and practice, 5th edn, Pearson Education, NSW. Cloke, K. and Goldsmith, J., 2011, Resolving conflicts at work: ten strategies for everyone on the job, 3rd edn, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1 st edition version: 1 Page 1 of 116

6 Introduction Student Workbook Cowan, D., 2014, Strategic internal communication: how to build employee engagement and performance, Kogan Page. Goleman, D., 2004, What makes a leader?, Harvard business review, vol. 82, no. 1, pp Available online, viewed February 2015, < Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R. and McKee, A., 2013, Primal leadership: unleashing the power of emotional intelligence, 10th anniversary edn, Harvard Business Review Press, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Johnson, S., 2001, Meeting the challenge of change, Eastern House, Croydon, Victoria. Jones, P., 2008, Communicating strategy, Gower, England. Robbins, S., Bergman, R., Stagg, I. and Coulter, M. 2011, Management, 6th edn, Pearson Education, NSW. Robbins, S., Judge, T., Millett, B. and Boyle, M., 2013, Organisational behaviour: leading and managing in Australia and New Zealand, 7th edn, Pearson Education, NSW. Please note that any URLs contained in the recommended reading, learning content and learning activities of this publication were checked for currency during the production process. Note, however, that IBSA cannot vouch for the ongoing currency of URLs. Every endeavour has been made to provide a full reference for all web links. Where URLs are not current we recommend using the reference information provided to search for the source in your chosen search engine. 1 st edition version: 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships Page 2 of 116

7 Student Workbook Section 1 Manage Communication and Information Flow Section 1 Manage Communication and Information Flow The focus of this section is on managing communications and information flow throughout the organisation. Section 1 outlines effective communication strategies for achieving organisational objectives, consultation processes, and processes for managing feedback. This section also addresses the development of grievance and dispute resolution processes. Scenario: Communications at Max Lionel Realty Max Lionel Realty (MLR) manages property sales and rentals (both residential and commercial) on behalf of a range of clients. The organisation also separately engages in investment activities, such as property and land development. Senior management at Max Lionel sees effective communication and information flow as crucial to MLR s success. Its agents need to be able to collaborate with each other, sharing information on client needs; they also need to be aware of shifts in strategic direction and operational improvements. The use of business social media platforms is central to MLR s approach. Both top-down and bottom-up feedback is valued at MLR to facilitate consultation, identify issues, and underpin the sense that everyone has a stake in the organisation s success. Aware that difficulties and conflicts will arise from time to time, Max Lionel Realty, has developed and communicated a strong policy framework to promote its values and resolve conflict. More information on Max Lionel Realty is provided in the Appendices of this Student Workbook. Appendix 1 provides more general detail about Max Lionel Realty. What skills will you need? In order to manage communication and information flow, you must be able to: ensure strategies and processes are in place to communicate progress against work responsibilities to all co-workers develop and implement consultation processes to ensure that employees have the opportunity to contribute to issues related to their work role facilitate feedback to employees on outcomes of the consultation processes develop and implement processes to ensure that issues raised are resolved promptly or referred to relevant personnel. BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1 st edition version: 1 Page 3 of 116

8 Section 1 Manage Communication and Information Flow Student Workbook Establish communication strategies and processes A key component of leading and managing effective workplace relationships is establishing strategies and processes for communicating information to employees and people in management positions. Communication has several functions within an organisation, from public relations and promoting organisational initiatives to managing information flow. Communication processes need to ensure that employees and managers have access to the information they need to perform job tasks when they need it, and in the most usable formats. Let s look at communication functions and how they are realised in communications strategies and processes. Communication functions Communication in the workplace serves four crucial, and partially overlapping functions: knowledge management facilitating collaborative decision-making coordinating work activities fulfilling emotional and social needs Knowledge management Communication strategies enable the effective transfer of formal knowledge and practical know-how from one person to another, from one person to many others (for example, to a work group) and from many to many (one work group to another work group, for example). For instance, senior management may need to socialise organisational strategy among staff, a department may wish to make available new work instructions, or members of a workgroup may wish to communicate process innovations, improvements or efficiency gains to others. Knowledge management includes sharing examples of hard knowledge, such as strategy documents and procedures. Knowledge management may also include examples of soft knowledge such as the more informal transfer of know-how or ethical practices through emulation, shared cultural practices and on-the-job team interactions. Facilitating sound, collaborative decision-making Effective communication strategies support good decision-making throughout the process of determining solutions. That is the process of: 1. Defining the problem: a. What is the impact of the problem? b. Who is impacted by the problem? c. What behaviour has to change to fix the problem? d. Whose behaviour has to change to fix the problem? 2. Gathering information. 3. Creating solutions. 4. Choosing a preferred solution against set criteria. 1 st edition version: 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships Page 4 of 116

9 Student Workbook Section 1 Manage Communication and Information Flow Effective top-down and bottom-up communication ensures access by decision-makers to both key technical information and the cultural or emotional context. Consultation on decisions and implementation can improve both the quality of the decision-making and buy-in by stakeholders responsible for implementing decisions. Communication strengthens relationships through supporting collaborative decision-making. Coordinating work activities Effective communication strategies such as the use of telecommunications, social networking platforms or instant messaging facilitate greater team coordination and cohesion. Work in most organisations is affected by, or affects the work of others. Communication of tasks, deadlines, quantities, errors, omissions and general issues are part of the daily communications between individuals and between teams that is required to get the job done. Fulfilling emotional and social needs Effective communication strategies help build strong internal and external relationships through building trust and loyalty, a sense of belonging and group purpose. Anthropologists and psychologists such as Abraham Maslow are in general agreement that once employees most basic needs of safety, shelter and job security are reliably taken care of, they seek social acceptance and esteem. Both verbal and non-verbal communication forms the basis by which humans determine their level of acceptance into or rejection by a group. This means you must take care to design messages and media to emotionally connect with your audience and support social cohesion. Communication strategies or plans One of the most important tasks in managing information flow and building relationships across an organisation is developing a communication strategy, or plan. To develop a communication strategy, you will need to determine your communication objectives and promotional activities, as well as your audience characteristics and needs. Your communication strategy should also set out how you plan to craft and customise your message to meet those needs and use appropriate media to achieve your communication objectives. You will also need to consider other important aspects of planning, such as resources and budgets, as well as who will be responsible for delivering or managing communications. Finally, you will need to consider how you will evaluate your communication plan against communication objectives. SWOT analysis Before looking at the purpose and target audience of the communication strategy, it is worth looking at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of communications within the organisation. Generally the SWOT analysis takes the form of a matrix in which strengths and weaknesses are considered to originate from within the organisation and opportunities and threats originate externally. Strengths and opportunities are considered as being beneficial to the organisation, while weaknesses and threats are considered to be harmful. BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1 st edition version: 1 Page 5 of 116

10 Section 1 Manage Communication and Information Flow Student Workbook Positive progress towards organisational goals can be categorised as strengths. Lack of progress towards organisational goals are weaknesses. External threats and opportunities are interpreted as risks to planned outcomes and opportunities to improve (through, for example, reducing costs or providing more value to the organisation for its investment in communication). Purpose and audience Possibly the two most important considerations in business communications are purpose and audience. First, the purpose of your communication plan should focus on the impact you intend to make on your audience and the organisation. Some generic purposes for your communication strategy are to: communicate and socialise the organisation s strategies and expected performance outcomes to stakeholders promote a positive and effective work culture by ensuring that employees approaches to work are aligned with the business strategy energise employees by informing them how their work is aligned to organisational objectives empower employees to participate in knowledge management, consultation and to focus their efforts on the right tasks and activities to advance organisational aims motivate employees by showing them how their work is crucial to the success of the organisation. 1 st edition version: 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships Page 6 of 116

11 Student Workbook Section 1 Manage Communication and Information Flow The first step when thinking about how to achieve the purpose of your communication strategy, is to start by asking a number of questions: What do you want your audience to know? What do you want your audience to be capable of doing? What actions do you want your audience to take? What changes in attitude do you want to promote? The purpose can usually be expressed as two or three objectives or goals for communicating. Be clear about these and how your communication goals relate to overall organisational goals. In an organisational setting it is often best to design your communications with the organisation s goals firmly in mind; your mission being to convince others to take actions or support actions in order to further those goals. Second, in order to achieve your purpose, you will need to consider the informational, social and emotional needs of your audience. In a business setting, audience needs are likely to be needs for: useful, relevant information for one s job role or to effect change user-friendly tools and media to participate in two-way communications and provide feedback correct information reassurance that risk to the organisation or the individual has been considered and minimised clear, actionable recommendations personal respect respect towards the organisation: its goals, values and business culture. Remember, your audience one individual or group, or a range of internal and external stakeholders, including: senior managers line managers frontline employees customers suppliers special interest groups. In designing your strategy, you may have to consider a range of approaches to meeting the needs of different audiences. Consider your purpose and audience carefully to make sure your communication strategies achieve organisational goals. BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1 st edition version: 1 Page 7 of 116

12 Section 1 Manage Communication and Information Flow Student Workbook Message/s You may have a clear goal in mind to achieve through your communications plan or strategy, but not everyone in the organisation or every level of the organisation has to hear exactly the same message to achieve that goal. It is important to consider what message you want to convey to each audience, bearing in mind their needs, role within the organisational hierarchy, level of power and influence, and level of support. For example, some audiences may require only a summary of progress on a particular project to keep them on side, while others on the front line may need detailed action plans or procedures for new processes. In any case, messages should be clear and unambiguous and relate directly to your communications objectives. Remember to tailor the style and content of your message to suit the needs of your audience. Media Once you have determined your objectives, audience needs, and the message/s you wish to convey, it is time to consider the best media or means for communicating the message/s and facilitate information flow to and among your target audience. Some suggested means of communicating are as follows: team meetings word-of-mouth training sessions staff orientations and inductions information sessions promotional videos organisational meetings responding to enquiries online document repositories or other knowledge management technologies management blogs work-related social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Yammer or Slack project management software, with facilities for alerts and setting tasks job aids intranet noticeboards brochures fact sheets newsletters magazines employee handbooks organisational wiki podcasts. It is important to consider how you can use your chosen media to the best effect to achieve your communications objectives. You may also consider combining media or integrating media with approaches to training and development and employee performance management. For example, job aids and written procedures, accessed through online document repositories, may help employees to retain knowledge and apply it on-the-job. When considering media choices, you will also need to consider your organisation s financial and budgetary needs. 1 st edition version: 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships Page 8 of 116

13 Student Workbook Section 1 Manage Communication and Information Flow To determine the most effective media or mix of communication channels, you may wish to develop a media matrix for internal or external communications. According to Paul Barton in Maximizing internal communication, when creating a media matrix for your organisation, you should ask four important guiding questions: Who is the audience we are trying to reach? Which channels reach that audience? What is the goal or outcome we are seeking? Which channel work best to achieve that outcome? 1 The following is an example of a media matrix. Media channels Strategic purpose Social media platforms Facilitate real-time information on project updates and process improvements. Podcasts To communicate messages consistently in digestible chunks. Organisational WIKI To facilitate collaboration and group information sharing; and promote engagement through participation. Audiences Project teams. Project teams Managers, project teams. Advantages Disadvantages When to use Supports bottom-up and top-down information flow and feedback. May be misused for social purposes When real-time collaboration and complex coordination between employees is required. Consistent, controlled topdown messaging. Supports multitasking and efficient use of time. Appealing to a younger audience. May be ignored and not downloaded by intended audience When staff are motived to access podcasts. Supports bottom-up and topdown information flow and feedback. Edits need to be monitored by content experts If expert can manage monitor site. 1 P. Barton, 2014, Maximizing internal communication: strategies to turn heads, win hearts, engage employees and get results, ebook edn, BookBaby. BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1 st edition version: 1 Page 9 of 116

14 Section 1 Manage Communication and Information Flow Student Workbook Media channels Social media platforms Podcasts Organisational WIKI When not to use For complex communications requiring high degree of top-down control. For crucial messages. If an expert is not available. Works well with Project work and dayto-day teamwork Other forms of topdown communication such as e- newsletters. Links from other online sites. Policies and procedures. Group collaborations such as brainstorming. 2 Now that you have considered purpose, audience, message and media, let s look at an example strategy to meet a narrow set of communication objectives. The example provided is designed for a real estate agency that needs to implement a new performance management system. 2 Adapted from: P. Barton, 2014, Chapter 4: Choosing the right channels, in Maximizing internal communication: strategies to turn heads, win hearts, engage employees and get results, ebook edn, BookBaby. 1 st edition version: 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships Page 10 of 116

15 Student Workbook Section 1 Manage Communication and Information Flow Communications strategy at Max Lionel Real Estate for decision to implement new Performance Management System Communication objectives: (aligned to HR objectives and organisational strategic goals) Audience: (characteristics/receptivity to message) Real estate agents and administrative staff Inform employees of decision to implement new performance management framework. Promote employee engagement and cooperation. Provide background information necessary to implement the decision effectively. Message: Explanation of decision; how it was arrived at and who made it. Discussion on need, feeling and views expressed in consultation process. Organisation s objectives and positive approach to performance. Explanation of new procedures. Examples and possible variations of implementation. Strategy: media, approach, rationale: (why it will communicate message and meet objectives) Podcast form CEO to introduce decision and prepare employees for presentation. Face-to-face presentation allowing personal interaction. Access to electronic versions of new policies on organisational document management system. Request for ongoing feedback from affected employees to supervisors and via wiki to build trust and sense of personal ownership of decision. Resources/budget: (if applicable, estimate) N/A Person: CEO HR Business Partner BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1 st edition version: 1 Page 11 of 116

16 Section 1 Manage Communication and Information Flow Student Workbook Communication plans or strategies may be directed at communication with regard to narrow range of goals, or provide a general framework for the whole of the organisation s approach to communications. An example of a communication plan template appears in Appendix 2 of this Student Workbook. Evaluation Finally, after a communication strategy has been implemented, it is important to plan to evaluate its success against the original objectives. For complex communications, you may need to create a monitoring strategy comprising objectives, KPIs, benchmarking, results at key dates and milestones, and data analysis techniques. Depending on organisational needs, you may also wish to evaluate against the four commonly used levels of evaluation first put forward by Donald Kirkpatrick with respect to organisational learning initiatives: Level 1 Reaction Did the target audience respond positively to the message? Were they engaged by the media? Level 2 Learning Were the informational objectives achieved? Did people learn? Did people receive timely, correct information as they needed it? Level 3 Application Besides learning information, did the intended audience actually use the information on the job, to create value for the organisation or its customers? Level 4 Impact or return on investment (ROI) Did people provide feedback as requested? Did people take action? Did people actually work smarter or more safely as a result of the communication strategy? How much revenue was achieved directly or indirectly by the organisation? How much money was saved? How much risk was reduced? What was the percentage return on resources consumed by the communication strategy? Arguably, evaluation is the most important part of your communication strategy. Planning evaluation helps you to focus on the right goals and for the organisation and individuals to learn and improve future communications performance. 1 st edition version: 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships Page 12 of 116

17 Student Workbook Section 1 Manage Communication and Information Flow Learning activity: Develop a communication strategy Conduct research into your organisation or another organisation you wish to research. Determine a project or organisational initiative that requires communication. Consider: organisational goals communication objectives audience media resources/budget activities evaluation. Use the template provided in Appendix 2 to develop a communications strategy. Communication processes Beyond creating the communication plan, you may need to provide managers or employees with additional guidance on how to implement it. Depending on organisational and communication needs, you may need to explain informal processes within communications or develop additional written procedures. For example, you may need to explain the use of social media or organisational wikis. You will need to enable: usage, through o written step-by-step processes o work flows and flow charts o diagrams o illustrations authority to initiate communication and edits resources required by the use of the procedure legislative or licensing requirements. When developing processes, especially formal, written procedures, you will need to consider existing organisational practices, ethical codes and policy frameworks. Policy frameworks will be discussed in more detail at the end of this section. BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1 st edition version: 1 Page 13 of 116

18 Section 1 Manage Communication and Information Flow Student Workbook Learning activity: Design a communication procedure Consider the communication strategy you developed in the previous activity using the communication plan template. Develop a procedure for using a communication channel in accordance with the communicating strategy. Consider the following when you are creating the procedure: the strategic objectives of the organisation the purpose of the procedure (what communication objective it is designed to achieve) presentation of communication processes for example, will you use step-bystep, written instructions or flow charts to illustrate the process of using communication channels? resources or tools required to use the procedure responsibility and authorisation for carrying out the procedure knowledge management, for example: How are documents to be created and stored? How exactly, under the general communication strategy, are teams to be provided the right information as they need it to perform work responsibilities? Feedback and the learning organisation It is worth emphasising the importance of including opportunity for feedback in your communications strategies. Feedback can be gained through mechanisms for both topdown and bottom-up communication or feedback. Critical information and ideas for improvement ideas can come from a variety of sources within the organisation, for example: surveys, suggestion boxes and internal social media platforms external forums, focus groups and industry groups internal task forces, focus groups and cross-functional continuous improvement teams. A common mistake made by managers or those in positions of authority within organisations, is to act as if they have to provide all new ideas for the workplace. This is an ineffective and disempowering attitude. In fact, the organisation can learn and improve from a variety of feedback, even negative feedback or feedback in the form of disputes, particularly when these are seen by management as opportunities to improve processes or communication and managed through effective policies and procedures. 1 st edition version: 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships Page 14 of 116

19 Student Workbook Section 1 Manage Communication and Information Flow In the influential management book, The fifth discipline, Peter Senge outlined his vision of the learning organisation, in which the organisation gains competitive advantage through exploiting the collective expertise and initiative of its workforce. What role do you think a communication strategy could play in achieving the vision of the learning organisation through facilitating feedback? Learning activity: Reflect on feedback mechanisms Review the communications strategy and communication processes you developed in the two previous activities and answer the following questions: Did you include both top-down and bottom-up communication? Did you consider all the ways in which information and feedback must travel throughout the organisation to achieve its objectives? What mechanisms for feedback and consultation did you include? Why? Develop consultative processes As discussed above, in addition to planning communications from a top-down perspective, you will need to incorporate processes for gaining feedback and consulting from the bottom up. It is important to be able to distinguish between consultation and communication. It is also important to explore some legal requirements for consultation, particularly with respect to health and safety. BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships 1 st edition version: 1 Page 15 of 116

20 Section 1 Manage Communication and Information Flow Student Workbook Consultation Determining the needs of employees, customers, suppliers, colleagues or your manager requires consultation not just communication. When we consult with people, we ask them what is important to them, for feedback on our performance on those key criteria and, most importantly, empower people to provide input into the decision-making process. Consultation: The process of actively providing stakeholders with an opportunity to contribute to the decision-making process. Communication: The process of sending and receiving information. Communication can be one-way, two-way or multi-lateral. Clearly, communication provides an important basis for consultation, but two-way communication is not necessarily the same as consultation. The purpose of communication is to inform and learn, while the purpose of consultation is to actually involve stakeholders in decision-making. After consultation, the final decision might be made by a manager, but the consultation has provided the manager with an understanding of the interests of those people who have been consulted. Consultation is important to build support and ownership for decisions. It often helps implementation to go more smoothly as a result. Effective consultation which seeks information and balances stakeholder interests also results in better decisions. Learning activity: Consulting to make decisions Consider two decisions that were recently made within your organisation (either by you or another person in authority). Decision Strategies, activities and media used to communicate decision and collect information or feedback Strategies, activities and media used to consult on the decision Reflecting on the chart you have filled in, how do you think you or your organisation could become more consultative and involve others in decision-making? 1 st edition version: 1 BSBLDR502 Lead and manage effective workplace relationships Page 16 of 116