Communication and Leadership

Leaders, do you tell those who are rowing where they are going?

Have you ever belonged to a team in which the leader rarely communicated what he or she expected of you or the team and didn’t value what you contributed? Well it’s hard to stay motivated and feel fulfilled in your job when this is the case. 

Good leaders communicate openly and clearly. They let those who are following know where they are going and why! 

Here are some tips that you as leaders might consider doing today to help those who are following you,  know where they are going and why:  

-Make your expectations of those you lead clear, ensure they understand what you want from them. Don’t make assumptions that people understand what it is you want; communicate what you want – clearly. 

Ask for understanding and clarification frequently and make sure everyone knows what it is you expect of them. One thing you can do to improve communication is at the end of every meeting or discussion review what has been discussed and ask if everyone understands, if not, then revisit until every person is on the same page. 

By communicating decisions that have been made down the organization as well as up, it will result in greater communication and commitment of the organization as a whole and commits your immediate team to doing those things they agreed to.  

–Commit to and give those you lead the tools and resources they need to succeed. You can communicate your expectations all day long, but if those you lead don’t have the support to fulfill your expectations, they will ultimately fail. 

Make sure that if the job requires a hammer, that you don’t give a saw instead. It is a great tool, but it can’t do the job of a hammer.

– And finally, it’s not enough to only let those who are following you know where they are going, but to also let them know that they are important contributors to getting there. 

Help those you lead know why what they do is important – help them make the connection. Tell them how what they do helps you in your job as well as those around them. Doing so will help followers feel valued and will result in greater commitment of  those you lead. 

Communicating clearly, positively and frequently will get you where you want to go a lot faster than being infrequently clear and ignoring the contributions of those who are getting you there.