What do you do if your team members have diverse communication styles?

Pair team members with different communication styles and encourage them to work closely together on projects. Through day-to-day interactions, they can observe each other's communication methods and learn to adapt.

Managing a team with diverse communication styles presents challenges, but it also offers significant opportunities to enhance team dynamics and effectiveness. By recognizing and valuing the different communication styles within your team, you can create an inclusive and effective communication environment. This increases overall productivity and job satisfaction. Effective communication is essential for any team’s success and becomes particularly important when team members have varied ways of expressing themselves. By understanding and appreciating these differences, you can cultivate a more inclusive and productive work environment. Be prepared to adapt your style, promote open dialogue, and foster mutual respect among all team members.

We all are different and so is our communication style. While working with different team members I realised there are people who will be very open in sharing their thoughts but necessarily not holds the best opinion and there are people who would go subtle and won’t share much but may holds the best perspective , the whole idea is to keep a balance and give a chance to all to express in whatever way they want to, so from holding Brain ?? storming meetings to calling suggestions on email , to structured meetings to informal discussions to chit chat meetings ups , we must exploit all resources , as per different style of communication our team members prefer.

One thing I have found helpful in strategising communication among team members is moderating wherever needed , at times in a running conversation I realise what one means and what the other understood are pole aparts , hence I don’t hesitate and jump in to explain the things ,because due to language and many other differences and selective listening , the real message is lost. So very important as a leader that we stay attentive not only for our communication but they way our team communicates with one another and cross functional teams , so we can pitch in when needed.

Adapting your communication style to suit the individual needs of your team members fosters inclusivity and productivity. Once you learn each team member's preferred communication style, it is crucial to adapt to ensure everyone understands what is being communicated and what is expected of them. This may feel challenging in team meeting settings because everyone is different, but communicating in writing and in advance the points of discussion and expectations of the meetings gives your team members more time to reflect on their contributions ahead of the meeting. Also, consider adjusting your communication style when encouraging team members to participate to foster trust and respect.

Inclusion is way beyond what it looks prima facia , specially when it comes to communication. Right from respecting each others dialects and pronunciation (specially when people from rural regions or countryside are part of your team) , pitch and tone (as by default due to ethnicity some may have a higher pitch and it can appear disrespectful though they don’t mean it ) , to someone’s sensitivity to certain words (what may sound like a slang in one language may be a meaningful word in other ) it all comes under inclusion , when we have people from diverse backgrounds who have to communicate more than often while working in the same team. So understanding about inclusion as a broader perspective is very important for communication.

In my experience, when managing a team with diverse communication styles, streamline their interactions by: 1. Assessing Communication Styles: Identify and understand each member's preferred style, whether direct or nuanced, digital or face-to-face. 2. Providing Training: Offer training on universal communication skills like active listening, non-verbal cues, and giving feedback to bridge style differences. 3. Creating Practice Opportunities: Use role-playing or team-building activities to practice and refine these skills in a supportive setting. These steps enhance team cohesion and improve overall communication efficiency.

Part of being a leader is identifying the individualized needs of your team, and working to ensure each of them are successful. If you know that one person does better with short, direct communication while another performs better if you take more time to explain the task upfront, pivot your approach to get the best out of each person.

A helpful model is Judith E. Glaser's conversational intelligence at work sometimes also referred to as transformational communication. Essentially, we need trust to let go of the need to be right and to move into curiosity and co-discovery. Only then can we go beyond our different styles and truly listen in order to learn rather than listening for the gaps where we can speak. So, create an environment that is about learning rather than winning and failure rather than perfection. Setting learning goals alongside performance goals can further support such an environment. At that point communication styles no longer clash because they are now the foundation for learning and co-explorating.