What do all leaders need for business success? The ability to communicate effectively. As leaders, you need to energize and motivate your employees, but also give them the necessary resources to do a job effectively.
As a skilled communicator, you can rally a team around the organization's shared visions, build trust, empower employees, and navigate changes. Poor communication can lead to low morale, missed performance goals, and lost sales according to a report from the Economist Intelligence Unit.
You may want to ask, “how do I communicate effectively?”
Here are our 4 tips that we've taken from top leaders around the world:
- Read the room
Great communicators can sense and anticipate the moods, dynamics, and concerns of those that they are communicating with. They have the psychic ability to adapt their message and meet the needs and expectations of those in the room. How do you do this? Well, you can start by really getting to know your employees, and what their motivations are. It will help you anticipate their response to what you have communicated. Taking it a step further, you need to be aware of your leadership style, and how you are perceived, so that you can better interact with your employees.
- Clarity
When communicating with your employees, be specific. Learn to communicate with clarity. Make the complicated and confusing more simple and concise. Define the desired outcome and clearly describe the milestones you would like to see achieved. You must get to the point of what you are communicating. If you are unclear or confused about your needs then you are setting the same tone for your employees. Make sure every word counts and weed out the fluff.
- Be open-minded
The greatest asset of a leader is their ability to take in different opinions. Open your mind to ideas and opportunities that could benefit your business greatly. Take in your employee’s opinions and understand where they are coming from. Instead of seeing your employees opposing views as them going against you, think of it as your employees wanting to develop your ideas further. Be curious about what they have to say. Open the space for people to give their opinions because your employees' ideas can stretch your horizons far beyond what you had in mind.
- Listen and engage with empathy
It is crucial to not only speak but listen. Leaders should engage in a conversation with their employees. It keeps everyone engaged and allows people to feel heard. Try asking for your employees' input and feedback on your ideas or proposals. Let them take a stab at a counter-proposal. You should not only ask for feedback on ideas but also on your leadership abilities. That will not only help you grow as a leader but help you build a strong rapport with your employees. Let your employees know that you hear them, and the steps that you will take to change.
Our takeaway
Being a leader comes with a huge responsibility of communicating effectively. That means creating a communication channel where people feel comfortable speaking up and expressing their ideas. It also means that you have to express your ideas clearly to properly lead a team. It is a hard thing to do right as it takes time and practice. Keep persevering and use our tips to help you.
We hope you enjoyed this article. Check out our other blog about change management as a leader and how it is essential to an organization grow. We have more articles on our blog that talk about change management, entrepreneurship and lead generation here.
If you have more questions about these 4-key business strategies that set you up for success, I invite you to book a free coaching consultation with me today.