Personal barriers: The personal factors of both sender and receiver may exert influence on effective communication. These factors include life experiences, emotions, attitudes, behavior that hinders the ability of a person to communicate.
Some of the personal barriers of superiors and subordinates are mentioned below:
- Fear of challenges to authority:
If a superior perceives that a particular communication may adversely affect his authority, he/she may withhold or suppress such communication. A person in the organization always tries to get a higher position and prestige. As such, the managers usually attempt to deny the information coming down the line or going up – as regular passing of information might reveal their weakness. Whatever fear is keeping you from reaching your goals becomes a barrier that prevents you from being the best person you can be.
- Lack of confidence of superior on his subordinates:
If superiors do not have confidence in the competency of their subordinates, they may not seek their advice or opinions. The superiors usually observe (accurate or otherwise) that their subordinates are less proficient and less competent, they are not able to advise their superiors or they might not have some information to convey. When you find yourself using a lack of time as an excuse repeatedly, odds are that you have time management problems.
- Unwillingness to communicate:
Sometimes, subordinates may not be prepared to communicate with their superiors, if they perceive that it may adversely affect their interests. Sometimes the superiors deliberately ignore the communication from their subordinates to sustain their magnitude. This works alongside the motivation of the subordinates to communicate. Look for alternate resources. If your family does not support you, look to friends or a support group.
- Lack of proper incentives:
If there is no motivation or incentive for communication, subordinates may not take the initiative to communicate. If this approach is unfavorable, there is a bigger chance that messages would not flow sufficiently from and/or to the superiors. This problem arises when the person is impatient and put his objective above all.
- Lack of Awareness:
Sometimes the superiors may lack awareness about the value and importance of communication in dissimilar directions in broad or exacting subject-matter. In such a case, communication is hampered or blocked. Also, the communication procedure suffers if the sender and receiver have less knowledge about the subject issue.
- Racial Barriers:
People from dissimilar cultures often have personal barriers based on prejudice, inflexible notions, and even education. These barriers have the possible to bound healthy communication between people merely because of color or traditions.
- Religious Barriers:
Religious barriers have long led to war, cultural and social disorder because of ideological differences. Religious barriers to personal augmentation and progress can be both spiritually and psychologically tough to conquer.
