When it comes to being a team leader, quality communication is essential. It allows you to maintain a healthy rapport with your employees that contributes to a harmonious, productive work environment. To help you with effective leadership communication, review the elements of such communication below.
An ‘Open Door’ Policy
Making it clear to your team that they can come to you at any time with questions, concerns, or feedback is one of the hallmarks of effective leadership communication. It puts your employees at ease, because they know they can talk to you and solve/resolve their issues in a timely, calm manner. If you do not want to literally keep your office door open as part of your open door policy, inform your team that they can email you or text your work phone to schedule meetings. You can also set aside 30 minutes or an hour every day for team members to come chat with you about work-related topics.
Detailed, Clear Instructions
When assignment and project instructions are not transparent, the chances of work errors occurring increases dramatically. Team members might feel like they cannot ask questions for fear of retribution, or interpret the directions incorrectly and waste their precious work time. Providing detailed instructions that clearly outline what work needs to be done eliminates these issues. It also helps to review instructions with your team and ask whether anyone has any questions. Your employees get more clarity if they need it and you’ll receive passive feedback about your instructions, which helps you create even clearer guidelines in the future.
Quick Response Times
Responding to emails, phone calls, text messages, and carrier pigeons (okay, maybe not the last one) quickly is another element of effective leadership communication. It shows your team and everyone else you deal with, such as suppliers, affiliates, clients, and fellow managers, that you care about why they are contacting you and take it seriously. While it is not always possible to respond immediately due to other work commitments, aim to respond within 30 minutes to an hour whenever you can. If you cannot provide a detailed response for any reason, you can still acknowledge the email and let the recipient know you will respond further as soon as you are able. They will appreciate you taking the time to do so.
A Positive Attitude
Your attitude makes a huge difference when it comes to successful leadership communication. It helps you appear approachable to your team, something a negative attitude does not provide. If your employees are afraid to speak with you or simply don’t want to because of “bad energy vibes,” communication decreases and the risk of work errors is higher. Maintaining a cheerful disposition makes it clear you are there to help your team whenever they need it for optimal production levels.
Remaining Professional
As important as it is to be positive and cheerful, it is just as important to be professional. Talking about personal matters in the workplace with your employees is inappropriate and can cause them to lose respect for you. Remaining professional at all times makes it clear that you are in charge and while you are there to provide assistance however you can, you are not anyone’s friend. This sidesteps favoritism accusations, among similar problems that can result in Human Resources inquiries. Work is work, and that’s it. If you want to socialize with your team, do it when none of you are “on the clock,” such as at work events. However, it’s still a good idea to avoid getting too personal!
For more about effective leadership communication, contact Peaceful Leaders Academy today.
