How can a Practice Management professional overcome communication barriers in a team?

To break barries the leadership needs to construct a strong relationship with his team and work on the same way to construct this this bridge between the people on the team.

In my opinion, documenting the roles/responsibilities and expectations sets the precedence. Monitor performance using KPIs and provide feedback immediately. If issues arise, identify the background, assess the impact and communicate recommendations. Share the findings with appropriate colleagues. Issues will always arise. Communicate important updates in multiple ways. One way is email but then cover during daily huddle knowing that not everyone gets to email timely.

Successful collaboration often begins with the establishment of shared goals that team members can work toward together. With this, teams may experience challenges if they don't fully understand the objectives of their work or agree upon them. To overcome goal confusion, teams can establish a standardized protocol for setting goals, analyzing them and outlining workflow to achieve them efficiently.

Modern businesses operate in a complex world, and rely on team members who all have different needs, opinions and personality traits of their own. This broad cacophony of what Donald Rumsfeld would call known knowns, known unknowns and unknown unknowns means that today’s managers need to recognise changing dynamics and adapt their style of leadership accordingly.

Completely agree that in order to be able to how you interact with others you must understand your own strengths and communication style. This is one of the reasons I find personality assessments, such as the DISC assessment so helpful as it can highlight what your tendencies are, and allow you to better relate to the situation and individual you are communicating with. Additionally, I really love continuing to bring the conversation back to the common vision and goals and focus on the how you can all work together to get there versus focusing on anyone area or team member as part of the problem. Alignment towards the bigger outcomes can help navigate most difficult conversations by staying anchored in the why.

"If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter" is (I believe, falsely) attributed to Mark Twain. Whilst editing, deleting and clarifying can take time, using clear and simple language reduces the risk of misunderstanding - whether that's within a team, or with a client. Clear is better than clever.

Before one can provide the message, one must first listen. What one hears will inform the content of the message and how the message should be given. A leader's intuition is key to this ability.

One thing I apply with customers is to listen actively because it is necessary to understand their needs, so it's the same with team members, you have to listen actively to figure out their needs, issues and concerns and the most important thing is to be empathetic with your colleagues, you never know what can be happening with the other person.

Be the one to initiate, in some way show that you have moved towards seeking restoration and harmony. Apologize, own up to your part, express regret about how things are, or say something nice to the other person to demonstrate that you are wanting a change. Yes, this makes us vulnerable, but it also sets the stage for something new to take place.

Leadership needs to understand the real reason for the conflict and talk to the team calmly and objectively about it and its effects. By following these steps cyclically, the leader will be able to put the team back on track.

Taking time to learn how your individual employees communicate and learn helps when it come to communicating what you want them to do or how you want things done. Some may see this as a task but to me it will save you time in getting the actual work done. People are individuals and each learn and listen differently.

Practice management professionals can overcome communication barriers in their team by promoting a culture of open communication, providing clear expectations, and utilizing diverse communication channels. Encourage team members to express ideas and concerns, actively listen to feedback, and address misunderstandings promptly. Implement effective collaboration tools, hold regular team meetings, and establish a clear communication protocol. Additionally, consider team-building activities to enhance trust and understanding among team members, ultimately fostering a more cohesive and communicative work environment.