Strong leaders are engaging
Personalization is essential. People gravitate towards engaging leaders, and will usually be more trusting of a person with a warm personality. Take the time to get to know your staff personally to create a warm and open work environment. Even better, your employees will be more reliable and strive to work harder for someone that they feel they are close to. An engaging leader will facilitate an engaging and safe environment where the staff can feel free to share ideas, thoughts, and concerns about different aspects of your company.
Stick to the specifics
Clarity and specificity can go a long way in leadership communication. Whether you’re disseminating news (good or bad), instructions, feedback or just general information, it’s essential to be as clear as possible and use specific information. Leaders who communicate with clarity and specificity can clear up any confusion or misdirection, which helps in the long run. Take the time to communicate your goals and expectations for your employees, laying out a plan for the future. The more time you spend on clarifying exactly what you expect now results in less time for clarifying what you meant later.
Make important information easily accessible
When you communicate with your employees, everything must come through the same channel. If you are using multiple channels to communicate with your teams, the information will get lost in the shuffle, which potentially means projects won’t get done. There are plenty of organizational tools like Slack, Skype, Microsoft Teams, and Asana to deliver essential information. Make sure that everyone has access to the tools that your company uses and maintain an open-door policy for when your staff needs clarification.
Whether you’re just starting as a leader for your organization, or you’ve been in a leadership position for years, it’s always important to re-evaluate your communication processes. There’s always room to improve yourself as a leader.