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@Rumana Maner
Communication is key if you want to be successful in anything.
In business, the person who is able to communicate the best, is often the one who succeeds, and is able to gain respect from other people. Transparency and honesty are critical for good leaders in any industry.
Today’s communication methods are evolving, and it’s important to be fluent in many different communication styles. If you’ve been put into a manager role, your biggest growth may be in learning how to communicate and connect well. One of the biggest myths about work culture is that people with titles automatically do their job better than others. Someone can be a boss or manager but still not be an effective leader. It’s actually fairly easy to obtain a big job title sometimes. Knowing the right people, and having connections can land people in big roles, even when they are not experienced. People in power often lead with dictatorship styles and fail in honouring employees and effectively managing business well and leading well. Leadership failures are hurting businesses — one report showed that 77% of organisations have a leadership gap.
It takes time to be able to communicate in superior ways and lead in positive ways. I do believe we all are working on communicating better, and especially listening. It’s true that women often possess better leadership styles than men. The biggest obstacle in business is often lack of integrity and an unwillingness of people to collaborate and communicate well. Everyone can learn new things and adopt more mindful behaviours in order to improve their character and communication skills.
Effective leaders know that they learn from relationships and experiences and are always willing to adapt, change their behaviours, and continually improve their communication skills. They eliminate blame, sarcasm, and silly comments and negativity, and instead attack solutions. With whatever business industry you are in, there are many valuable reasons to work on your communication and leadership skills.
Everyone needs to be accountable in how they show up at work, how they work with others, and how they utilise communication and business skills. In everything, there is power in our word, and how well we utilise our word in every moment and own it. Utilise these communication tips to build leadership skills and create a better work and business culture.
1. Have an Open Mind, and Empathy
When it comes to communication, having an open mind and being willing to shift your perspective is key. Your reality isn’t the only reality; it is your perception. Failing to truly listen and practice empathy can lead to misunderstandings and resentment. This is especially true when conflicts arise. Without an open mind, no compromise will be possible and someone will walk away feeling disrespected. Knowing that everyone sees the world different, and has their own perception can eliminate errors, grudges, and problems.
2. Listen to Your Employees
A big part of communication isn’t talking, it’s listening. Most people are really very bad at actually listening. They pick and choose from what they hear or are simply waiting for the other person to be done speaking so they can talk. By listening, you’ll promote open communication and actually understand your employees’ needs. Listening is key for empowering employees, establishing trust, and showing you are supportive of your team.
3. Influence Your Team with Your Actions
Many managers simply see their role as overseeing day-to-day operations, but it’s much more than that. The old cliché “actions speak louder than words” is completely true when it comes to management. What you do sets the expectations for your team — you’re their role model.
Action should be deliberate, not arbitrary. Don’t just call meetings because you can. Only request action when it has a purpose. Everything you say and do communicates something to your team, and it’s important to think about what kind of influence your actions will have. Do your actions line up with your values? Are your requests reasonable? These are the kinds of questions you need to ask yourself. Above all, set a good example.
4. Encourage Growth, Creativity, and Innovation
Some leaders feel threatened by their team’s growth, which can quickly erode credibility and trust. As a leader, you need to be willing to encourage growth, creativity, and innovation. Help your employees gain new skills and pursue opportunities for self-development. Reward the employees who want to grow, learn, and share their ideas. Nurturing the next generation of leaders is one of the best things you can do.
5. Be Authentic and Real
People can see right through someone who isn’t authentic. Strive to be transparent, clear, and real in how you interact with people. Own up to mistakes and show people your human side. Keep your word, stay true to your values, and always communicate with honesty. Your own, authentic voice and real personality is the most valuable leadership asset you have. People will want to interact with you more and work with you as you build trust and show them who you are.
Leadership Means Being Vulnerable
Many leaders are reluctant to show their true selves because it makes them feel vulnerable. Insecurity kills us all and limits us greatly. However, without honesty, integrity, and authenticity, employees will not feel they can trust, respect, or count on their leaders. Vulnerability is often what forms those all-important connections. Part of being a leader is learning how to communicate well, show vulnerability, and positively impact others — in life and business.
Without good communication skills, people won’t be motivated and won’t feel satisfied to work with you. Everyone wants respect and wants to feel valued. Ultimately, how you lead and manage shows your personality and core values. It’s everyone’s responsibility to constantly improve communications and be the best leader you can be.
What is Leadership Communication?
Leadership communication is a type of communication most commonly used by leaders to relay information about the company’s culture, core values, mission, and crucial messages to build trust and encourage employees.
In practice, it involves delivering a shared vision and inspiring others to buy into that vision. It is describing the values inherent to the company and showing how the company is living up to that promise. With clear communication, leaders can navigate their organisation through all types of changes, big or small.
Leadership communication also builds trust within the organisation, both between leaders and employees and between employees and the organisation itself.
By clarifying company culture and structure, it helps employees to align better within the organisation. This communication then inspires open dialogue throughout the company, promotes collaboration, teamwork, and honest feedback.
Finally, it helps prevent miscommunications within the organisation and ensures that all employees are kept up to date with important information.
Why is Leadership Communication Important?
It is very difficult to be a good leader without good communication skills. However, good communication skills are not as common as they should be.
According to a Harvard Business Review study, 69% of managers’ report that they are not comfortable communicating with their employees in general.
That is a significant number - especially because of the vital importance of good leadership communication.
1. Good communication improves engagement
Employee engagement is massively important - engaged employees will work harder, stay with the organisation longer, improve customer service, and in general lead to better business outcomes.
To get employees engaged, they must trust both their leaders and the organisation.
This can be done with effective leadership communication. Leaders share the vision of the company and show by actions that they are dedicated to that vision.
2. Clear communication aligns employees with strategic goals
How can employees be aligned with organisational goals if they don’t know what they are or don’t understand them? The answer is that they simply can’t.
It is the leadership’s job to evangelise these goals, to create awareness of them among the workforce. Not only that, leadership needs to deliver consistent updates about what the goals are, why they have been chosen, and what the path to reaching them is.
All of this serves to engage employees - their strategic alignment with organisational goals will deliver better business outcomes.
3. It builds trust and encourages transparency
There is a worldwide crisis of leadership, according to the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer.
No matter the type of leadership, from government leaders to religious leaders, from CEOs to journalists, there is a growing trust gap. Not one type of societal leader is trusted to do what is right. People are also increasingly rejecting talking heads, who are viewed as partisan and not credible.
Trust in CEOs has dropped to an all-time low in many countries. In Japan, CEOs have the credibility of just 18%, while in France it sits at 22%. As CEOs work to address problems within their business, industry, and the world in general, this lack of credibility will present a huge challenge to overcome.
However, despite this lack of trust, people still expect business to step in where governments are absent or ineffective. There are heightened expectations for CEOs to use their skills for the good of society and the world at large, rather than just for the good of their company and shareholders.
By
@Rumana Maner HR Manager
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