High Impact Leadership: Barriers to Effective Communication

Have you ever been in a situation where you are trying to make a point with someone, and you just don't seem to be getting through? Instead of a smooth and enjoyable interaction, it gets rather bumpy, and feels like the discussion is going nowhere. This affects not just the current discussion, but potentially affects future discussions with your group. And that consequently affects your working relationship with your team members. Unfortunately, this is a rather common occurrence within workplaces, with leaders and teams struggling to communicate effectively. In fact, workplace communication statistics show that 86% of employees and executives cite the lack of effective collaboration and communication as the main causes of workplace failures.

As a leader, this is something to be really mindful of. How you communicate with your team impacts how engaged they are, how confident they feel, and how much trust they have. High performing teams have a knack of communicating and collaborating effectively. It's not to say that they are immune to communication issues. However, they find a way to address those so they don't get in the way. It starts with identifying the barriers to communication, which they can address subsequently. I thought I'll share some of the common barriers to effective communication in this newsletter. You might resonate with some of these, and I trust that you find this valuable and insightful.

Not being present: We all know someone who turns up at a meeting, who gets distracted by an incoming email or a message, or tries to multitask- Working on something else while 'listening in'. While they may be proficient in multitasking, it doesn't help with the rapport and connection with others in the room, which is so important for communication. When people struggle to be present, it can really affect the quality of those discussions.

Lack of trust: When you interact with someone who you don't trust, it affects the interaction adversely. People process information based on how they look at things. So if there are issues with trust, no matter how much the other person tries, there will always be a doubt and a negative perception to everything they say. It helps if you address some of those underlying trust issues, which helps you enter those conversations with an open mind.

Different communication styles: This applies to not just verbal communication, but to written communication as well. People have different preferences and styles when it comes to communication. Some are very expressive, and like to explain things in great detail. Some like it concise. Some like to send messages quite often, some like limited messaging, only as needed. Some of you might really resonate with the content I share, and read it till the last letter. Some of you might scroll for a bit, and move on. (I really hope that's not the case though :P). As a leader, it helps if you gauge the overall communication style of your audience. Basically, read the room. If there is a certain preference, adapt your communication to align with that. If there is a diverse group that you are interacting with, it helps if you can clarify the approach that might best serve the group as a whole, and get a buy in on that approach.

What's in it for me?: Something that can derail any collaborative discussion is when some (or all) of the participants enter the discussion solely focused on "What's in it for me?". Nothing wrong in having an agenda, however if that's the only thing people focus on, it may close them off to other perspectives and inputs. It can hurt the ability of the group to collaborate, especially when some of the outcomes may not be in alignment with "What's in it for me?" It helps in recognising that underlying mindset and setting expectations accordingly.

Language or cultural differences: I've thought about whether to actually mention this as a barrier per se. Traditionally, language or cultural differences do get spoken about as a potential barrier to communication. However, my take is that this becomes a barrier when people see it that way. We live in a world where we interact with people from different cultures and races. Diversity can be a strength for any group. So it becomes important to acknowledge differences in language or culture as part of our diversity, not as a barrier. When you are interacting with people from different backgrounds, it helps if you set the expectation that they can speak up if they don't agree on something. It also helps if you checkin with them to see if you are all on the same page.

Lack of safety: There are often instances where people don't open up and engage as needed. It could be that they are introverted, or they don't feel safe in sharing your views. When your group doesn't engage with your message much, it is worthwhile for you to investigate why that is so. Especially, when people who have previously engaged with you, stop opening up. Psychological safety (or the lack of it) can be a huge barrier in people opening up and communicating with others. Creating a safe space for people to open up and share their thoughts with others is critical to the success of your team. Doing so can help address a number of interpersonal and communication related issues.

There are of course be several other factors in the team not communicating effectively. However, addressing these barriers can be a great start in fostering communication and collaboration within your team, and elevate your impact as a leader.

Which of these barriers do you resonate with? Are there any other factors that impact effective communication within your team?