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3 Communication Steps to Effective Leadership
How to solve leadership issues with effective communication.
by Val Unverricht
When I speak to professionals about why they are open to a potential move, uncertainty is one of the reasons most often given. Uncertainty about their current company’s strategic direction. Uncertainty about their own career path in said business. Uncertainty even over whether there is a future for their job.
There is a popular saying: “Employees don’t leave jobs, they leave bad managers”. As clichéd as this may be, there is a lot of truth in it. Good or superb managers are remembered by their people for most of their careers, whereas bad ones can taint the perceived image of the whole company. And, as I am regularly told, they also allow uncertainty to grow.
All of this happens when leaders communicate poorly. I firmly believe that the vast majority of leadership issues are caused by poor, misguided or insufficient communication. This creates
- Poor followership,
- Which depresses motivation and commitment,
- Impacting productivity, revenue/profits and, therefore, the company’s success and future.
Three straightforward (and, admittedly, obvious) steps can prevent this.
1-to-1 accessibility
Individual relationships are crucial to effective leadership and they can only be properly built if 1-to-1 time is possible and regular. Personally, I have progressed and developed most when my manager had a set weekly slot for a 1-to-1 meeting – and I practice the same with my team.
This allows you to tailor your style of communication to the individual in front of you. It lets you frame company-wide messages into a context that makes sense for that individual. 1-to-1 meetings allow space to discuss matters outside of work that are important to the given team member. They let you learn and re-learn your colleague’s instinctive drivers and how to translate these into performance.
Regular group forums
Similar to 1-to-1s, team huddles need to be regular and their format needs to be somewhat predictable. Unlike 1-to-1s, they are an opportunity to put some accountability back onto your team members by asking them to brief their colleagues on their current work and achievements. At the same time, they are echo-chambers – problems and issues can be voiced to a group of peers but in a protective space, giving you a great opportunity to gather feedback and information that you can use to influence your own bosses. Again, these team meetings also allow you to put any company-wide messages into a context your team understands.
Written follow-ups
This might not be necessary after every 1-to-1 or team meeting but it is an important way to “hammer home” any big messages, announcements or learnings. Sending something in writing adds formality and accountability. It allows you to refer back to said message further down the line and erases any kind of deniability on the part of your team members. That’s why performance improvement plans are always put in writing. It works the other way round, too. Putting a positive message in writing (such as a promotion or a process improvement) means that it is more dependable – your people can hold you to your written word, whereas the spoken word, at least theoretically, can sometimes be forgotten.
Communication is the most important vehicle of effective leadership.
These 3 steps equip you with the tools to be heard by your team without needing the “gift of the gab”.
Generally, a robust process has to be in place to ringfence time and space for direct and bespoke communication, on an individual and a group level, verbally and in writing. The more predictable and accessible these communication platforms are, the higher the trust they build.
After all, that’s what leadership is all about – convincing your people to trust that you are showing them the right direction.
Beyond these 3 entry steps into effective leadership communication, 6 Groups’ Leadership Advisory practice delves deeper into the environments and circumstances of our clients’ executive teams – and then works with them on an individual and group basis to optimise performance outcomes.
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