What do you do if your executive team lacks effective communication skills?

When faced with an executive team lacking effective communication skills, it's crucial to address the issue proactively. Start by fostering a culture of open communication, where team members feel comfortable sharing thoughts and ideas. Provide communication training and workshops tailored to the team's needs. Encourage active listening and feedback mechanisms to improve understanding and collaboration. Utilize tools like regular team meetings, clear communication channels, and feedback surveys to gauge progress and make adjustments. Remember, effective communication is key to successful leadership and organizational cohesion.

If your executive team lacks effective communication skills, it can hinder productivity, collaboration, and overall performance. Here are some steps you can take to address this issue: Assessment: Start by assessing the current communication dynamics within the team. Identify specific areas where communication breakdowns are occurring and understand the root causes. Provide Training: Offer communication skills training for the executive team. This can include workshops, seminars, or hiring communication coaches to work with individual executives. Focus on active listening, clarity in expression, empathy, and conflict resolution. Encourage Open Dialogue: Create a culture where open communication is valued and encouraged.

Conduct Communication Skills Training: Organize communication skills training sessions or workshops specifically tailored to the needs of the executive team. Provide practical guidance on active listening, clear articulation, non-verbal communication, and fostering open dialogue. Incorporate interactive exercises, such as role-playing scenarios or team-building activities, to help executives practice and refine their communication skills in a supportive environment.

Implement Regular Communication Forums: Establish regular communication forums, such as weekly leadership meetings or monthly strategy sessions, where executives can openly discuss key priorities, challenges, and opportunities. Encourage participatory communication by providing each executive with dedicated time to share updates, insights, and perspectives. By fostering a culture of open dialogue and information sharing, executives can enhance their communication skills and strengthen collaboration across the leadership team.

Tailor the training to their specific need. Set expectations around what is going to be taught. Give them opportunity to practice what is being learned in class. Show-tell-do, is a model that I use to ensure they are understanding the material. This caters all types of learning styles.

Promote Transparency and Accountability: Emphasize the importance of transparency and accountability in communication practices within the executive team. Encourage executives to communicate openly and honestly with each other, acknowledging both successes and setbacks. Hold individuals accountable for their communication commitments, such as timely follow-ups on action items or clear communication of expectations. By promoting transparency and accountability, executives can build trust and credibility among team members, leading to more effective communication outcomes.

During training give them the opportunity to practice. One of the techniques I use is that once they have learned a skill, we continue to implement that throughout training. They start to implement every skill learned in their conversations and interactions. This is where they start to practice and make what they have learned a part of their normal language.

In my experience coaching teams, communication rises to the top of common challenges that appear when attempting to build towards a high performing team. In this area I encourage you to understand each others unique style and preferences when it comes to communication so that you can "flex" your approach to meet their emotional needs instead of your own. Assessments such as DISC, Kolbe, StrengthFinder and others can give you awareness although practicing what you learn about each other consistently is what will create the new behaviors to enhance the communication of the team. Spend time in meetings learning about each other and practice what you learn about each individual to raise your level of understanding to build trust and rapport.

Provide Feedback and Coaching: Offer constructive feedback and coaching to executives to help them improve their communication skills. Conduct regular performance reviews or individual coaching sessions to discuss strengths, areas for improvement, and actionable feedback. Provide specific examples of effective communication behaviors and areas needing development, and offer practical strategies for improvement. By investing in personalized feedback and coaching, executives can gain valuable insights and develop their communication competencies over time.

Continue to work with them out of the training as a coach. It is important to hold them accountable to practicing. If not, then they will not see any progress.

Lead by Example: As a leader, demonstrate effective communication practices and behaviors for the executive team to emulate. Model clear and concise communication in your interactions with others, both within the executive team and across the organization. Actively listen to executive team members, validate their perspectives, and encourage collaborative problem-solving. By leading by example, you can set the tone for a communication-rich culture and inspire executives to prioritize continuous improvement in their communication skills.