When you’re in a leadership role, the ability to communicate clearly is imperative. You’ll need to communicate with members of your team as well as with other leaders, superiors and possibly vendors that work with your company. If you don’t have good communication skills, your team may not trust you or look up to you, which can lead to poor productivity and reduced morale. There are several communication skills in a leader that are essential.
Clarity
Whenever you deliver a message to your team, whether verbally or through email, you need to do so in a way that’s clearly understandable. Staff members need to have a clear understanding of their roles and your expectations. The messages you deliver should be clear and concise rather than rambling or confusing. Messages that are long and rambling cause people to tune you out and not absorb the most important points you’re trying to make.
Inspiring Action
Having a leadership title doesn’t automatically mean people will deliver the performance you’re looking for. It’s essential that you have the ability to motivate your team and inspire them to be productive. Communicate a vision that benefits them and the company. Project collaboration between team members and enthusiasm for making a contribution. Pay attention to what motivates your team and what falls flat. Work on having a positive attitude to set an example for your team.
Empathy and Encouragement
Communicating empathy and encouragement lets team members know you’re genuinely interested in their ideas, suggestions and concerns. Staff should know that you’re available to hear what’s on their minds, whether they’re having disagreements with a coworker, problems outside work or difficulty completing their tasks.
Active Listening
When team members approach you, they need to know that you’re actively listening to what they have to say. This is especially important if you’re dealing with difficult situations such as a conflict between employees. Active listening involves allowing the person to communicate without interruption while you take notes and ask questions that can help to clarify anything that might be misunderstood. When they’re done speaking, repeat back to them what you heard so that there’s no miscommunication. Pay attention to not only what they say but also how they say it. Body language and facial expressions may say more than just the words they choose.
Adaptability
The ability to be adaptable is one of the important communication skills in a leader. Your approach to communication may have to be adapted to different situations and different personality types. Your communication style may be different when you’re speaking to employees compared to when you’re speaking to superiors. Your approach may need to change when communicating with staff that aren’t responding to your current approach.
Open-Mindedness
Communication is a two-way street that involves not only what you communicate to others but also what’s communicated back to you. Don’t be too quick to jump to conclusions when communicating with others. Be curious about what others have to offer and open-minded to new ideas and suggestions.
Enhancing Communication Skills in a Leader
Effective leaders understand that there’s always room for improvement of leadership skills, especially communication. Enhancing communication skills in a leader involves working on skills through practice and formal training. You can learn to improve your communication skills in a variety of ways including books, videos and training programs. Leadership training programs are held both in person and online and can help you to learn new skills and improve the skills you already have. You can also enhance communication skills by working with a coach or mentor.
For information on peaceful leadership training, get in touch with Peaceful Leaders Academy.
