Communication Mastery Skills Needed Now and In Future of Work

To get to the future we need to have the right behaviours now, in the present.

We can't talk about creating the future or creating your future unless we are each committed to changing our mindsets and actions to align with the future we want to create.

Communication is a fundamental element of being able to lead change, engage teams and increase collaboration.

Baseline communication skills are needed AND there is a range of communication skills from baseline to mastery needed today and in the future.

Baseline communication skills include:

• Assertive communication skills which includes knowing the nuances between passive/aggressive or passive-aggressive behaviours.
• Future focused communication - using language and tone of voice that is focused on future and solution.
• Knowledge of different personality styles including your own
• Effective communication across diverse delivery channels (speaking in person/speaking virtually/email/text/IM instant messaging/DM direct messaging/SM social media messaging)

The above baseline communication skills allow us to navigate daily work. When things go wrong in any relationship it is often because somewhere along the line there has been a communication breakdown.

Mid level communication skills include:

• Courageous assertive communication skills which includes the ability to consistently and effectively handle passive, aggressive and passive-aggressive behaviours in others.
• Agility to pivot and adapt your communication approach quickly when dealing with different personality styles either one on one or in a group setting
• Consistent communication - communication of expectations to all stakeholders and reliable response rate to questions/emails/follow ups

The above mid level communication skills allow us to navigate daily work.         

The above mid level communication skills allow us to navigate daily work while also being able to expand our bandwidth with less stress. The primary reason there is less stress with mid level communication skills is because you are setting expectations and your consistency builds trust with your teams.

Communication mastery skills include:

• Conscious communication skills which includes the blend of head (logical)/heart (emotional intelligence)approach when interacting with others.
• Seamless ability to know your own personality triggers so well that you rarely get triggered by other people's communication or behaviours.
• Seamless ability to understand the personality types of others rapidly and then be able to organically shift communication approach to 'meet people where they are' rather than expect them to just understand.
• Thoughtfulness and mindfulness before you speak/write/text/message on how your communication is going to 'land', before pressing send on a message, or before saying something in a group that may be misinterpreted.
• Range of multiple perspectives where you can see/empathize and imagine other people's realities from their point of view.
• From the broad range of multiple perspectives you are able to bridge communication gaps and unite people's perspectives for faster understanding of each other and greater team alignment.
• From the broad range of multiple perspectives the heightened ability to 'read the room' and to get a vibe of how people are feeling, to speak to the unspoken and to provide confirmation of the diverse viewpoints in the room.
• The ability to share context in ambiguity or complexity. This includes being able to simplify terms and messages through the use of analogies, stories, examples or visuals.

The above communication mastery skills allow us to feel like we are in 'flow' and with high confidence. Our teams are interacting quite well, people speak up and share insights and generally the department/team/company culture is more open and collaborative.

Here's a quick micro learning opportunity from this week's newsletter - read through the list of communication mastery skills. Identify someone who you think exhibits one of the communication mastery skills really well. Observe and watch how he/she/they demonstrate the skill. What can you learn and apply from how they communicate?

Optional additional action: If its appropriate have a chat with the person who you identified that has a specific communication mastery skill - tell them you admire their skill and ask them how they learned to apply it.

I hope you enjoyed this week's newsletter - have a great week!