Ensuring that your team has the information, tools and support needed to perform at their best is all part of knowing how to communicate as a leader.
One of the most important functions of a leader is good communication. The most essential characteristic of a successful leader is the ability to clearly and persuasively explain their thoughts and ideas, maintain professional relationships, and manage the flow of information. The ability to appropriately interact with different audiences inside and outside the company is also one of the most critical skills of a true leader.
Senior-level employees need to understand the essence of effective leader communication and its importance for successful leadership, along with the critical skills needed to achieve good results in becoming a leader.
What is communication in leadership?
Leadership communication is how leaders communicate information about the company, its core values, culture, and mission. It involves presenting a shared vision and inspiring others to embrace that vision.
Good communication builds trust within the company between employees and management and among employees themselves. For employees to better interact with each other within the company, leaders need to explain the structure and culture of the company adequately.
Such communication promotes productive collaboration, teamwork, and honest feedback, prevents miscommunication within the company, and ensures that all employees are aware of all critical information. Leaders move their company toward positive changes through proper communication.
Why is communication in leadership important?
Communication is essential to maintain a positive team culture in a company. Leaders, in turn, must use effective communication to inspire incremental positive change and empower employees to work toward team goals.
A leader’s most pressing task is understanding office politics’ nuances and navigating all company levels. They must maintain a positive atmosphere, increase employee engagement, and encourage teamwork.
If communication between the leader and employees is lacking, important information may not be conveyed adequately, leading to deteriorating relationships and a lack of progress. Even a tiny misunderstanding can grow into conflict. Leaders need to know how and when to communicate with employees and be able to choose the right way to communicate. This is one of the most important ways to build critical human relationships in the workplace.
Key leadership communication skills
Being a good leader without the necessary communication skills is virtually impossible. Despite this, research shows that 67% of managers feel uncomfortable with face-to-face employee interactions.
What skills are needed for quality and effective communication within a company, and what type of leader employees actually need? Below, we have listed the most important skills a good leader needs to possess.
Personal communication style
Different styles in a leader’s communication can negatively impact the effectiveness of workplace communication in general, which can be insufficient for understanding priorities and even contribute to increased stress.
Leaders must define their leadership style clearly. This will help better understand interactions with and perceptions of the company’s employees. It is also essential to be able to mentor your team accordingly.
Every employee is different, so understanding how to tailor your communication is vital for motivating and influencing employees to more efficiently achieve company goals.
Active listening
A good leader always knows when to talk and when to listen. You show employees you care by allowing them to express their opinions and share feedback or ideas. Always actively participate in the conversation by asking questions, taking notes, or clarifying information.
Don’t be distracted by external factors. Focus on what the employee is saying. Listen to people from different levels of the company. Everyone’s opinion is essential, both long-time employees and newcomers who may still be reluctant to speak up. Team members must be made aware that you value them and their opinions so they can feel comfortable speaking up.
Transparency
Transparency is vital in a company because it can help overcome communication barriers. Leaders should talk openly about the company’s problems, opportunities, and goals. Studies have shown that 85% of employees are most motivated when they know all corporate news and information, both good and bad.
This level of transparency will make it easier for leaders to create a work environment where each employee can share their ideas and honestly admit their mistakes, which will also help build trust within the team. Employees need to understand their role in the development and success of the company.
Clarity
Research has shown that 71% of employees feel their leaders need to spend more time discussing goals and plans. Leaders need to give employees specificity and clarity. Always have a working plan of action, show employees the desired outcomes of projects, and clearly define what needs to be achieved by the end of a particular stage.
Managers should choose the right words and ask employees if they have understood everything to ensure all information is communicated correctly. The more precise the leader speaks, the easier it is for employees to understand their work.
Asking open-ended questions
Leaders need to ask open-ended questions to understand employees’ goals and thoughts. For effective communication, it is better to use phrases such as “Explain what you mean,” “Tell me more about this,” or “Define this concept for me.”
Talking with these types of open-ended questions encourages more thoughtful responses from employees. This will ensure that leaders are clear about what their employees need from them to be successful in their work.
Empathy
By practicing empathy, leaders show their employees care about them and their well-being. In this way, it can strengthen team relationships, improve understanding, and increase employee engagement.
By being more empathetic in communication, leaders also positively influence colleagues’ inspiration and motivation, leading to better performance.
Open body language
Communication is not only what leaders say but also how they behave. Much of the impact during communication comes from nonverbal signals.
Making eye contact with employees, nodding, smiling, or other relaxed gestures contribute to more comfortable communication. Positive body language shows that the leader is attentive, which helps build rapport.
Receiving and implementing feedback
By asking for honest feedback from employees, leaders build more trust within the team and contribute to their growth. Giving employees a voice can make them feel that they have a meaningful impact on company policy. It is essential not only to receive feedback but also to develop accordingly. Taking team feedback seriously is necessary to improve skills and grow as a leader. This way, leaders can show employees that they have been heard, their point of view is valued, and the leader is serious about making improvements.
Awareness
Leaders with good self-awareness better understand their emotions and how their behavior affects employees. When faced with difficult situations, they can react flexibly while remaining calm.
Self-aware leaders are also very attentive. They understand exactly what their team needs and adapt their way of communicating to fit the situation, taking into account the needs of their listeners. These leaders create an adequate information flow and ensure their ideas reach the team.
Respect
By demonstrating respect for employees, leaders foster an inclusive team environment and more robust employee engagement, commitment, and loyalty. Leaders should treat colleagues with dignity and value the diversity of their points of view at all times. By showing respect, they inspire others to engage in open dialog.
Sometimes, you need to engage directly with your employees, listening to their stories and aspirations individually. By talking to each team member, you will learn their aspirations and be able to give them personalized benefits sets, showing your honest respect and investment in their professional growth.
Promise fulfillment
Keeping promises and commitments will maintain the trust between the leader and the team. Trust is vital for effective communication. Leaders must be trustworthy and credible to employees.
For example, if you promise to fix a problem, do it. Earn a reputation as a trusted leader. Your employees will be grateful to you and will be ready to do more for the company.
Communicating as equals
Communication should be effective at all levels of the company in every department. There should be no apparent differences between employees, depending on who the leader is talking to.
It is imperative not to have a clear preference for any employee or department. Leaders should pay attention to who they spend the most time with and ensure it is balanced throughout the organization.
Personal experience stories
Leaders also sometimes make mistakes. If leaders criticize the work of other employees, they should also share stories of their failures or similar experiences. This way, employees will realize that mistakes are not personal flaws but an excellent opportunity to learn and grow.
By sharing such stories, leaders show the team humanity and that they can help by investing in their employees’ professional development.
A few steps to improving communication skills
Any skill can be developed and improved. This applies to leadership communication skills as well. But it takes practice and self-awareness to achieve the goals. Here are a few steps to help start improving communication effectiveness:
- The leader needs to identify their strengths and weaknesses and review each skill related to effective communication. This will help identify areas that need improvement.
- A plan needs to be made to track progress. When practicing the necessary skills, leaders need to be patient and systematic.
- Careful choice of words is necessary during communication. The goal of a leader is to convey the message in a simple and accessible way. Therefore, before giving it, influential leaders should first think it through.
- It is worth eliminating parasitic words from the speech. To appear more composed and confident when communicating with employees, leaders must remove all parasitic words from their speech.
Self-improvement can be difficult, but by applying a little effort and following these steps, everyone can improve their leadership communication skills.
To increase communication effectiveness wherever leaders are, they should use special software for communication within the company. This will enable them to reach all employees and deliver critical information to everyone, whether they work in the office or remotely.
Task management tools
Task management tools are needed to improve a company’s overall performance. They combine communication functions with the ability to track tasks. This helps employees do their jobs better.
With such a management and communication system, tasks or even entire projects can be a smooth process for team members who need help with precisely what to do.
Tools for messaging and chatting
Messaging tools are the ideal solution for efficient and fast communication in work chats with the ability to record audio messages: leaders and their teams can communicate flawlessly in real-time and get back to the pre-recorded messages as many times as needed around the clock.
With such platforms, it’s easier for employees to keep track of team progress and share new ideas. Using simple ways to communicate brings employees together and helps increase their productivity.
Tools for voice and video conferencing
In today’s business world of remote and hybrid working arrangements, using voice and video communication tools is necessary. These tools help team members to meet online and discuss projects directly with leaders. It is also a good solution for communicating with customers or remote employees.
Depending on which tool is used, it is easy for leaders to organize a call with a team or an individual employee. A service like business VoIP will allow leaders to communicate with customers or employees from anywhere in the country, providing call continuity and even simultaneous calls.
Email communication management
Email has always had its place in any company. Leaders may use it for internal mailings to share company news or announce a product or event. Although this method of communication is considered outdated, many leaders use specialized email management applications.
They allow the entire team to share a typical inbox and, at the same time, work on customer emails, which improves communication both inside and outside the company.
Conclusion
Effective communication is the basis of leadership. Leaders must practice transparency and empathy in their communication to inspire and positively influence a team. It is essential to understand precisely how employees perceive their manager.
To become a good leader, it is necessary to improve communication skills constantly. Setting the right goals and creating a good leadership development plan makes it easy to guide and track progress, improving daily.