Do you communicate well at work?

It’s easy to see how conflict could arise from asking people with communication differences to interact regularly and, not only that, asking them to produce results.

Joseph Garcia teaches about these work style differences at Western Washington University. He is the director of the Karen W. Morse Institute for Leadership and the Bowman Distinguished Professor of Leadership Studies at Western Washington University.

Garcia said people have a tendency to reject communication styles they don’t know. Communication differences can lead people to talk past each other or possibly see each other as too cold or too touchy-feely. The way people talk about work — and even the world — can cause confusion and conflict, he said.