Being an effective leader is not just about making world-changing decisions. It is also about bringing out the best in your team, uniting people, guiding, and inspiring them. None of these can be achieved without proper and effective communication. When communication within an organization becomes stagnant, unorganized, and messy, challenges such as conflict mismanagement, loss of opportunities, and lack of innovation are inevitable. At the heart of every great leader lies great communication. That said, here are the expert communication tips you need to become better.
Be Empathetic in Your Communication
Being empathetic is about listening and talking from the heart, weighing situations, and paying more attention to understanding people’s thoughts as they communicate. Everyone has a unique perspective based on their emotions and life experiences. Understand that every team member is distinct, and be sensitive when responding to them or situations affecting them.
Perfecting this approach promotes a supportive work environment and strong connections with your colleagues. If you need professional help, you can look up a communications coach on Leadar, by location, skills, or business name.
Learn to Navigate Difficult Conversations
Some conversations will be harder than others but they do not have to translate into complicated or cold conversations. When you are faced with situations where you must address such conversations head-on, keep your mind open. You can get the other person to understand or agree with your ideologies without trying to change their beliefs and stance. When navigating difficult conversations, frame your feedback positively and focus on finding reasonable conclusions instead of assigning blame.
Develop Good Relationships
According to a recent study, more than 50% of employees fear communicating with their leaders, and about 70% of leaders are uncomfortable having candid conversations with their team members. Good relationships between leaders and their team members can only thrive through healthy interactions. You can achieve this through heart-to-heart, expressive, and open talks. Little things like participating in their off-work events or supporting their side businesses also help them see you as personable.
Be Clear and Precise
Ambiguous conversations lead to even more confusion and misunderstanding. As a leader, it helps to master the art of clear communication. This can be through deliberate actions such as avoiding jargon, using simple sentences, or structuring your message to create the most impact. Ensuring you understand what is being said during a conversation is equally important. If need be, repeat the words you heard to avoid doubt.
Observe Non-Verbal Cues in a Conversation
Communication is not just limited to words. Nonverbal cues also help convey messages, sometimes even better than words do. It can be anything from facial expressions to movement of hands and body posture. Knowing how to read these cues and align them with the verbal message is important for any good leader. It makes a difference when you pay attention to your own body language when communicating. Your eye contact and hand movement say a lot about your true feelings toward the topic of discussion.
Seek Your Team’s Trust
A bossy attitude and pretending to understand people’s situations when you need them for a favor never work in genuine conversations. It helps to go out of your way to ensure your team trusts your intentions with the information they share with you. Making timely follow-ups on feedback, feeding any promises made, or sharing results assist in building and maintaining trust.
In business, sometimes plans change because of unforeseen events. If so, let your team know in good time about the new course of action and, if possible, the reasoning behind it. Remember to not overpromise on things you are not in a position to deliver as it is harder to follow up on, breaking trust in the long run.
Leverage Modern Working Arrangements
Hybrid and remote workplaces are replacing the traditional way of working in an office. Microsoft reports that about half of the working force is comfortable in a hybrid working environment. Changing to these models would require you to embrace new communication strategies that suit the platforms. Technology has also led to breakthrough solutions like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, making it easy to keep things going in the new ecosystem. Even on these innovative platforms, communication needs to be seamless and on time to be effective.
Listen Actively
While the ultimate responsibility lies with the leader, listening to contributions without interrupting is critical. Take time to internalize the message and only respond after all the information has been laid out. Besides giving the other person enough time to share their mind, active listening demonstrates respect for other people’s ideas. If someone feels heard by their leader, they can reciprocate it by ensuring the success of the goals you set for them.
Embrace Feedback
Establish a two-way street in your communication with your team by soliciting feedback. However, feedback does not always have to be positive because it is about honesty more than anything. At best, it helps you identify potential areas of communication breakdown that are costing you. Hence, every piece of information that comes from this process is critical. On the other hand, collecting feedback and not acting on it will kill staff morale, discouraging them from participating in the future.
Refresh Your Approach
Improving your communication skills also calls for some retrospection and identifying your weaknesses. The point is to find what is not working while assessing the need for a different communication strategy. Remember not to be too focused on that one goal and neglect what you already are great at. Your team will appreciate being able to come to you with a problem and still maintain your respect as the boss.
Conclusion
Whichever leadership position you hold, it is never too late or too early to improve your communication skills. It might, however, require a total personality shift to be better and isn’t something that will happen at the press of a button. You need patience, adaptability, self-awareness, and commitment to change. Embracing the above tips will hone your skills, elevate your ability to motivate your team to succeed, and inspire them to be better.
