Effective Communication & Leadership
Effective leadership in a small business requires knowing how to communicate with
all elements of the organization, including employees, managers, customers and
investors. Each group may require a different communication style and leadership
style. Leaders must be able to adapt based on the group they are communicating with
at the time. Effective communication skills are an important aspect of any leader’s
portfolio of skills and experience.
Verbal and Nonverbal Communication
Verbal communication is the most obvious form of communication. However,
research has shown people pay much less attention to the words that are said and
much more attention to the actions and nonverbal cues that accompany those words.
Nonverbal cues include facial expressions, use of hand motions, body posture and eye
movements. Leaders should strive to always match their nonverbal cues to their
words; when they do so, they are more believable and trustworthy.
Adapting Styles to the Audience
A good leader adapts his communication style depending on his audience. When
speaking to employees, he may need to have a much more directive style than when
he is delivering a presentation to the community or speaking to customers. Leaders
should identify the audience and their characteristics and interests, then adjust their
communication style based on what the audience needs and what will encourage
them to react to meet the goals of the communication. Throughout the course of a
day, the leader may have to switch between an authoritative style with employees and
an inspiring style with stockholders.
Ability to Listen
An important aspect of communication is the ability to listen. Active listening should
always be a goal, with the leader focusing on both the verbal and nonverbal language
of the speaker. Active listening involves concentrating only on the speaker and
ignoring outside interruptions, including the listener's own wandering thoughts or
possible responses. Active listeners also refrain from interrupting, give the speaker
time to finish, show they are listening by doing things like nodding or smiling, and
reflect or paraphrase back to verify their understanding.
Leading By Example
Leaders and business managers should realize employees will look to them as a
model of how they should behave under certain circumstances. Employees tend to
emulate how they see leaders acting and communicating. If employees see a leader
using an active listening style and empathetic tone with customers, they are more
likely to do the same. When leaders are open to the ideas of others and praise often,
employees will tend to follow suit. When speaking, leaders should consider whether
they would want their employees to speak in the same way to the same audience. If
not, the leader should adjust his communication style.
Improving Communication Skills
Effective communication skills do not come naturally for most people. Many people,
including business leaders and managers, need to practice repeatedly in order to
improve their skills. In addition to practicing, leaders should consider classes or
training that will help them communicate effectively. With the tool known as 360-
degree evaluation, every person in the organization is evaluated by one or more
superiors, colleagues and employees. Leaders can participate in 360-degree
evaluations both to serve as an example for employees and to identify whether their
communication skills need improvement.
Research indicates a strong link between communication and effective leadership.
A study conducted by Weisman Success Resources found that 44 percent of
responding business leaders reported they were unhappy with their employees’
work. Of that group, 70 percent said they felt they needed to improve how they
communicated with their employees in order to resolve the performance issues
and improve motivation. Of the group that was happy with their team’s
performance, 70 percent of the managers attributed this to their communication
skills.
Effective leadership requires knowing how to communicate with various groups
within an organization, including employees, managers, customers and investors.
Each group may require a different communication and leadership style, and
although leaders must be able to adapt based on the group they are
communicating with at the time, there are key principles of effective leadership
communication that universally drive collaboration and success.
Question
1. How do you define communication? On a scale from 1 to
10 (1 being low and 10 being high), how do you rate the
importance of Leader in communication?
2. What the challenge for Leader when it comes to
communication? And Do you have a communication pet
peeve?
3. What have been the biggest lessons you have learned
about communication?
4. On a scale from 1 to10, (1 being poor and 10 being
excellent) how would you rate yourself as a
communicator?
5. What do you think you do well when you communicate?
6. What communication skills are you working on or would
like to further develop?
