Communication barriers in organizations cost millions each year in lost productivity, slower delivery to customer, poor quality all resulting in lower profitability. If you want to stop communication breakdowns in their tracks then make sure your business is good at each of these:

Respect & Consideration for Others:Often times we can get so caught up in our own goals, objectives and agendas that we can forget the impact of our actions on others. To build trust with others it is important that you take actions that reassure them that their needs and concerns are given consideration and are respected by you. Does that mean you always do everything they want? Not necessarily. But that if you are going to take an action that will have a negative impact on them that it is communicated quickly, openly and dialogue is encouraged to enable them to search for solutions that any challenge you've thrown their way may be overcome.

Be Loyal to People who are Absent: How do you feel when you know or get the inkling that people are talking about you behind your back? What does that do to your relationship with the parties involved? Talking about others when they aren't around - no matter the justification - never does anything to enhance relationships and build strong communication channels. Be committed to being loyal to absent parties, and if you do need to discuss their performance you are do so in the context of coaching (or being coached) in how to have a conversation with that person. When you do this people will know that they can rely on you to be loyal.

Have the Right Attitude: There is no worse feeling than feeling that you are being judged. To have effective communication you must lose any negative judgments you have about a person and/or situation and come more from a place of curiosity. "I wonder why this person might be behaving this way". When you send out a vibe that you have a positive attitude toward someone they will simply 'get' it. Your attitude will dictate whether the other person feels understood and consequently heard. You bust barriers when you adopt an attitude of approval

Get Alongside People: Trust is built from knowing someone and liking them. To get to that point, you need to spend time with the person. So if you are a "hold-your-cards-close-to-your-chest" kinda gal/guy or "I-have-an-open-door-come-and-see-me-whenever-you-want" type you will find it much more challenging to have effective relationships. With-holding information or simply not being available (physically and emotionally) leads to suspicion and lack of motivation. Effective communicators establish a climate that allows dialogue to flow in a spontaneous and natural way.

Keep Promises: Every organization has to deal with trust issues that arise from broken promises and excuses. People want to feel that they can rely upon you to deliver on what you have said. If for some reason you find yourself unable to deliver on a previously made promise

Agree Norms: Work with your team to set down a series of norms/guidelines that you will each follow. These guidelines, when applied, will ensure the consistency of behaviour that leads to an environment of high-trust and therefore high-performance. Ensure that violation of these guidelines, by anyone, is never stepped over - address the issue quickly and reaffirm the behaviours you expect.

Read more about creating high performance workplaces at the leadership-and-motivation-training.com website where there is over 100 pages of tips, tools and techniques for the high performance leader.