Leadership Communication And The Impact On A Team

Leadership Communication And

The Impact On A Team

What is leadership communication?

Leadership communication, or the communication of a leader, is the practice of developing relationships by understanding and effectively addressing the needs of customers, suppliers, partners and employees.

Leadership communication is the art and science of getting people together on a common platform to solve problems. Communication is not limited to the exchange of words alone; it can also be non-verbal. There are five types of communication which are namely: verbal, non-verbal, written, visual and electronic communication. As a leader you need to have effective communication skills in order to be successful.

What is the importance of Leadership communication?

Effective leadership communication is particularly important in the organisational contexts.

In business leadership utilises communication skills to inspire the team to follow a particular vision. Communication is the face of any business and it is vital that an effective communication structure is established from top down and bottom up. This can create a productive workplace environment and build trust and respect amongst colleagues. Strong communication skills are often a significant part of an effective leadership strategy. Leaders who can articulate vision and strategy clearly to their teams are better equipped to inspire and influence others.

Below we will share a practical perspective on effective communication which stresses the need to get rid of ineffective jargon, useless information and "politically correct" terms and focus on giving crystal clear messages that can be understood in a few seconds or less.

To summarise, Leadership Communication is important because:

1. Good communication improves engagement

2. Clear communication aligns employees with strategic goals

3. It builds trust and encourages transparency

4. It can create a collaborative, accessible workplace culture

5. It facilitates effective leadership

Tips for Effective Leadership Communication

1. Be honest

Honesty is always the best policy - we’ve all heard that since we were kids! It was true back as children and it remains especially crucial in business as adults.

If employees find out that they are being lied to, especially about important matters like the financial state of the business or a big upcoming change, then they are very likely to look for a job with a different company - one that they feel they can trust.

Building trust is more than just words though, it is gained through actions that line up with those words.

2. Always keep your promise

Make sure that you have a perfect track record for following through with what you say you will do.

There is nothing more likely to break trust than not honouring commitments that you have made as trust is absolutely critical for good communication.

If, during a feedback session, you have said you will fix an issue, then make sure that you take the necessary steps to do so.

Become known as a reliable, credible leader and your employees will grow to always go the extra mile for you - because you have proved that you will do it for them too.

3. Communicate wisely with a plan

We’re all busy and nothing is more annoying than taking time out of the day for something that ends up being unimportant or irrelevant.

Or, worse than that, the subject is important but has been communicated poorly and the information itself is lost or misunderstood.

To avoid this, enter all communication with a clear plan.

For example, if you are revealing a new project, you would state what the project is, the desired outcome, the time frame, and resources, as well as any important details. Then, repeat it. It can be helpful to use a bullet list to make sure that you don’t forget anything important.

4. Listen with open ears

To be an effective communicator, you’ll not only need people to listen to you, you must listen to people.

Be visible amongst your employees, get personal with them and ask their thoughts and opinions - and really listen to what they are telling you.

One-on-one interactions will help you in countless ways - people will trust you more because they have a personal relationship with you, and they are more likely to tell you the truth if there are issues within their team or department.

Build positive relationships throughout the organisation and you’ll reap the benefits of better communication.

5. Be empathetic

This tip aligns with the tip having open ears towards your colleagues. As you are building relationships with employees, try to always have empathy as your default.

A leader who reacts angrily or negatively to difficult situations is not one that will gain the trust of their employees, nor will they be told the necessary truths they need to hear, but that employees may feel hesitant to share.

By acting with empathy, by putting yourself in the other person’s shoes, listening attentively, and trying to understand the situation, you will be building a strong bond with your employees.

6. Simplify

Great communication is memorable.

That’s why slogans and tag-lines are so popular - a simple but effective line will stick in the memory so much more easily than a long, complex paragraph.

Great communicators know this and are skilled at breaking down complex subjects into clear and easily understandable sentences.

These sentences don’t have to be standalone though - you could deliver the sentence, explain the concept behind it - try to avoid too much jargon and business-speak - then circle back to the sentence and it would still be a very effective way to communicate.

7. Embrace openness and honest feedback

As much as it is unpleasant, being wrong is a critical part of learning and growing.

Leaders should never shy away from these types of conversations!

By speaking with people who have different viewpoints, leaders will have the benefit of understanding different perspectives as well as develop a reputation as open-minded and fair leader.

By welcoming honest feedback, leaders gain the trust of their teams. In both cases, they show that they value the opinions of others, further building their reputation as a good communicator.

8. Learn how to speak to groups as individuals

This is not an easy skill to learn, but it is one that is worth the effort.

A truly good communicator can speak to a large group and have every person in the audience feeling like the speaker is talking to them personally.

The key here is in understanding the group that you are talking to and personalising your message and delivery for them.

If it’s a highly technical group of engineers, you’ll be using different terms than for your customer service team.

If you have spent time meeting your audience in one-on-one situations, then you should have an idea of how to deliver a speech tailored for them and leave them feeling like you spoke to them personally.

9. Be consistent in your communication and actions

People thrive with consistency, and principally seek it from their leaders.

Before speaking, take your time and make sure that you transmitting information or opinions that are thoroughly considered and well-informed.

This will ensure that you won’t be flip-flopping from one day to the next, and people know that they can trust what you say today will be the same as what you say next tomorrow.

10. Communicate equally with your employees

Make sure that you are communicating with employees at every level of your organisation, and in every department. From part-time employees to executives, there should not be glaring differences between who you speak and listen to.

Pay attention to who you spend the most of your time with. It is very important to make sure that you are not favouring any one person, department, or level of employee. People absolutely notice these things!

11. Unite people around a single cause

Commonalities are an effective way to bring people together. This can be something as simple as a quarterly target, but could also be the company mission, the ethos behind the organisation, or the long-term goal of the company.

Having a shared goal will unite your employees, and give them a clear target to work towards.

12. Show confidence

This one is another that can take some practice and skill, but it is massively important: Always be confident.

In your actions and words, you should demonstrate confidence. There will be times and incidences where you temporarily do not know the answer. You can still respond to difficult situations with confidence, even in admitting you are not sure what to do right now, and that is okay.

In doing so, you will build trust with your employees - we all know there is nothing worse than a leader who isn’t confident in the words that they are saying.