What are your communication strategies as a leader or manager?

Like pieces to the puzzle, clear communication helps and clarifies perspective and also in assertive goals. While multitasking may be beneficial for a short interval, it is simply not sustainable. Why? One might ask. Well one cannot hope to use high end car to be used a normal commute and be economical and an ordinary car to travel the equated distance in the same time as that of high end cars. Every person similarly has different skill set and a good leader should emphasize on distribution of tasks per skills and at the same time attach less experienced person with them to ascertain further resource cultivation. It is fairly simple to do when you know you're people and that is when you can utilise customized conversation. It helps ??

In my experience communicating with people from all levels, how you say something is more important than what you say. Two things can make one an effective communicator: making people feel important when you need something done quickly and making people think you are important when you ask for a favour. They will be more likely to do what you want.

I first understand what interests my audience, who may be supervisors, colleagues, trainees, mentees and so on. I find points of alignment in their interests and what I seek to communicate. I start from areas of alignment, before going onto things that they may not be naturally interested in. I keep it clear and simple. If I understand it and keep it simple, they'd understand it too.

I tend the use the PACE plan, which is often used in the military: Primary (P): Face-to-face is my foremost approach, ensuring real-time feedback and comprehension through visual cues and tone. Alternate (A): Video calls serve when in-person isn't possible, preserving visual interaction and suiting collaborative messages. Contingency (C): Emails are my third choice, ideal for formal, documented communication. I stress clarity, conciseness, and always ask for acknowledgment. Emergency (E): For urgent matters, phone calls are key. They provide instant connection, followed by an email for documentation. Closed-looped Communication: I always seek acknowledgment. After conveying a message, I ask for a recap to confirm mutual understanding.

As leaders, it's important to put ourselves in the shoes of our team or other leaders. They have good reasons for their actions, communications, and ways of working. There's usually a good why and how behind what they do. Don't listen only to reply. Becoming an empathetic and supportive leader starts with "active listening to understand." Sometimes we are surprised by our team's behavior. In these situations, we have two choices: 1 - react with anger or 2 - proactively schedule a one-on-one meeting to uncover the underlying issues. If you choose the latter, you're more likely to help your team or other leaders find solutions, leading to better engagement and collaboration.

Leading by example via active listening sets the expectation of your audience to return in kind when you are speaking. It allows for vulnerability, an essential part of effective communication

I will start communicating by why we are doing this task and what we, are going to do and how it will impact us in terms of our KRA. People will always be interested when we tell how this task or project will help you to grow.

Feedback can be tricky especially if you are dealing with younger colleagues like Gen Zs. What I have done is to ensure that my feedback is not immediate and it’s done one-on-one so as not to dampen the morale of my colleagues.

We must foster safe, welcoming and honest environments for conversation and discussion. Without doing so we cannot encourage and promote inclusion, equity and accessibility, elements of leadership and management which are fundamentally vital in building an expert and representative team who reflect the society in which they are engaging with. We must think about how we communicate safely with one another, actively listening and being proactive in our approaches from the point of design and engagement.