How managers can use measurement to optimize their communication

Effective manager comms doesn’t depend on sending more messages — it’s centered on asking better questions. Intentional measurement and disciplined data usage can turn manager comms from simply sharing messages to a trust-building communication process.

During Ragan’s Manager Communications Certificate Course, Dr. Robert Carroll, assistant professor of instruction at the University of Texas, Moody College of Communication, said that measurement breaks down when managers aren’t given clear directives on what needs to be measured and how.

“When initiatives feel meandering or disconnected, middle managers are under pressure to find direction,” Carroll said. “So the instinct becomes, ‘Let me survey people and see what they think.’ But if the questions aren’t strong, that data actually makes the problem worse. Now you have differing opinions, no clear path forward, and even more confusion about what should happen next.”

Carroll added that a lot of great measurement begins with survey design — and that it’s easy to construct an ineffective survey quickly.