Mastering the Essential Skills of Communicating
Achieve More in Work (and Life) by Mastering the Essential Skills of Communicating,
Effectiveness in leading a team or of an organization rests squarely on the ability to communicate. But how often does communication fail instead of succeed?
It makes no sense to strive for the best communication to accomplish the necessary goals in a climate of secrecy, stagnation or intolerance of fresh views, whether you are communicating one-on-one or to a team. On the other hand, by becoming empowered with the essential skills of communication, you can achieve more in work --- and life.
The right communication skills can help leaders achieve many things:
1. Create conversations. The ability to create effective interactions shows others that you care and are walking the talk.
2. Provide the proper care and feeding of others. Effective communication increases engagement for all employees, but it especially promotes the care and feeding of potential employees.
3. Be social. Use social media to bridge and encourage dialogue.
4. Foster communication of diversity. Modeling how to communicate with multiple generations and other diverse populations creates trust and rapport, as well as promotes the team's productivity.
5. Be the bridge. Build trust through communication by listening and managing appropriate feedback.
6. Articulate the vision. Communication helps you become the link between the mission and the execution. Inspire others by thinking, acting and speaking the language of success.
7. Cultivate a culture of confidence. With the right words you can support others in delivering extraordinary economic and social values.
8. Foster collaboration. For skilled leaders, effective communication encourages a community of shared purpose among groups, thus creating a sweet spot of shared interest toward mutual success.
9. Catalyst for problem-solving. Essential communication skills encourage great ideas, allowing the team to break the mold and strive for results.
10. Transform the organization. An organization that trains leaders to communicate effectively at all levels is one that thrives, retains employees, remains competitive and achieves success.
Mastering these essential communication skills means that leaders can drive success in their organizations - but only if they are trained appropriately.
Train Middle Managers to Create a Climate of Open Communication
"Middle managers are the link between your mission and execution," said Kurt Meyer, vice president of HR and support services for Elkhart General Hospital.
In essence, leaders at any level can turn strategy into action and help put everyone on the same page. Creating a climate where strong supervisor-employee relationships thrive improves employee engagement and retention.
"A well-trained middle manager who is capable of clearly articulating the vision and mission of the organization and is capable of clarifying the strategies of the organization's top leaders will minimize the 'us versus them' mentality and improve the overall morale and satisfaction of the workgroup," said Curtis Powell, vice president of HR for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
This brings us to one of the skill points taught by our program Essential Skills of Communicating™: the ability to create a climate of open communication. This means the following:
• Team members feel free to offer their opinions, ideas and input.
• Information is exchanged freely.
• Problems and conflicts are openly discussed and resolved.
• Team members feel free to take risks and challenge the status quo to improve the way things get done.
The Annual Employee Engagement Survey from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Research Foundation and Buck Consultants shows that 44 percent of nearly 1,000 U.S.-based communication professionals said that their supervisors strongly increased employee engagement. On the flip side, 41 percent said that their supervisors have reduced it. One of the factors that influences engagement is the amount of employee communication in an organization.
Creating a climate of open communication achieves business results. Leaders who articulate vision and listen to engage in open and honest communication. This garners greater insights into what motivates employees to work toward excellence.
If you would like to explore how we might be able to assist your middle managers improve their communication skills please contact us by telephone 212 362 5215 or e mail info@communicationstrat.com
Contact: David Hellman (info@communicationstrat.com)
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