“I’m just a soul whose intentions are good,
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood.”
While no one sets out to be a poor communicator, countless leaders around the world can relate to Nina Simone’s timeless 1960s lament. Communication skills are among the key attributes of effective leadership and are key to maximizing employee trust, retention, team cohesion, productivity and engagement. In a recent Grammarly State of Business Communications report, 96% of business leaders agree that “communication is the backbone of business.”
Troubling statistics
Despite decades of awareness and investment in improving communication for leaders, poor leadership communication skills remain a costly challenge, both at home and around the world. A recent Axios HQ report pegs the annual cost of lousy communication in American workplaces at $2 trillion. Globally, according to a 2024 Gallup report, a whopping $8.9 trillion is lost annually due to low employee engagement.
In search of sound strategies and solutions
The primary goal of any form of communication — both personal and professional — is to convey information as clearly, accurately and succinctly as possible in a way that the recipient is able to understand and process expectations, impacts and ramifications. Though this definition appears painfully evident and simplistic, it presents a far more complex proposition: the job of communicating any message is never complete until the recipient can understand, process and act on the message.
In one-on-one exchanges, inviting questions and ensuring that a message is understood, while potentially challenging, can be achieved with compassion, patience, good listening skills and a little time and attention. When it comes to leaders communicating with multiple employees in workplace settings, this side of the communication equation is often non-existent or superficial.
The less-traveled two-way street
All too often, leaders avoid rather than invite and engage employees in two-way communications. By failing to engage in two-way communications with employees, leaders leave valuable opportunities to demonstrate the key leadership qualities of competency, empathy and connection on the table. In doing so, they erode employee trust, morale and engagement.
Beyond creating opportunities to listen and respond to employee questions and concerns, a great leader, through their ability to communicate their organization’s goals and values, must also strive to inspire.
More than information exchange
Beyond the primary goal of conveying information, effective communication skills are a leader’s most potent means of inspiring employees and keeping them engaged. When leaders share organizational goals and values, talk about opportunities on the horizon and share information about navigating organizational changes and challenges, they create a culture where employees feel valued and included. They believe that their contributions matter to the success of their organization. As a result, they feel more engaged and connected to their organization’s goals and values. In a word, they feel inspired.
More than words
As any great communicator will tell you, effective communication encompasses more than words alone. Today, more than ever, as employee workplaces and team dynamics evolve to include remote workers and leverage rapidly evolving communication tools to keep employees informed, engaged and inspired, effective communication skills in leadership are key to the success of organizations of all shapes and sizes.
Here’s the good news: communication skills are just that — skills that anyone can learn! As such, a leader willing to invest the time and attention to improving their communication skills can effectively elevate their skills and capacities as a speaker, listener and creator of effective channels of communication.
7 steps to become a more effective communicator
Acknowledge the pivotal role of communication in leadership. Creating meaningful change begins with awareness. Building awareness of vulnerabilities and opportunities for communication skills learning, growth and improvement is the first step to becoming a more effective communicator.
Devote time and attention to creating and delivering clear, effective and relatable written and spoken messaging around organizational goals, expectations and vision.
Develop and practice active listening skills. We’ve all experienced conversations where someone we have been talking to has tuned out or is not truly listening. Active listening demonstrates genuine interest in and respect for others and builds rapport and trust.
Create efficient channels of communication. Provide employees with a means of communicating their questions and concerns. Invite employee questions and ask relevant, open-ended questions of employees. Be responsive to employee feedback. Answering, rather than avoiding tough questions, is a powerful means of building employee trust and engagement.
Shift and adapt your style of speaking to relate to different individuals and groups effectively.
Engage in opportunities to share your organization’s vision, values, challenges, and goals in person, one-on-one or online in a way that moves, inspires, informs and engages employees.
Invest in strategic leadership communication skills training for yourself, your team leaders and your managers. There are coaches and other professionals who can help you become a more confident and effective communicator.
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
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