Communication is not only the real work of leadership but also of management. I argue that leadership is an action of management, so every time that I write or speak about management, leadership is included.
Authors Hitt, Black and Porter in their book Management defines communication as the process of transferring information, meaning, and understanding from sender to receiver. As you can see, there are three key words: Transferring, meaning and understanding. We could conclude that we communicate meaning with the purpose of understanding.
I will not go through all the theory and elements of communication, but i will use the three steps to great communication posted by Joseph Folkman in his article published in Forbes to remark the importance of this soft skill.
The three steps are: Tell, Ask and Listen. Managers have to tell team members what needs to get done, expectations, mission, vision and dreams of the organuzation in a clear and concise manner.
After telling, managers have to ask questions to clarify the message and to confirm the message was understood and everyone is on the same page. Asking questions can create opportunities to enhance our understanding.
Then, one important step of a great communication is to listen. Listen what team members have to say, what their feedback is. Managers can learn a lot from their team members by listening. Managers have to listen no with the purpose of replying but with the purpose of understanding. Listen actively and with open mind.
If you follow these three steps, you will improve your communication skills. Remember that communication is a critical soft skill that can make you or break you as manager.
Actively seek for opportunities to improve your communication skills.
All the Best,
Freddy Guevara
Freddygzone: Freddy Guevara Leadership Zone 