Stop for a moment and...

Rate your communication with your team on a scale of 1-10. What about their communication with each other? What about your communication with customers or your family?

One of the things we see often with leaders and businesses is that they lack great communication. This leads to a lack of clarity and expectations, which leads to disunity, which in turn leads to silos within the business and team (and possibly even your family).

The Real Issue

If you take inventory for a moment, do you see those things in yourself? If we are honest, many of us probably do see these struggles. Note that it's not because you aren't a great communicator or that this reflects negatively on your leadership ability. It's often because we've never been taught how to communicate effectively.

Often, when communicating, we simply speak in a way that we understand it and then become frustrated when the other person doesn't get it. Why don't they? Because they aren't like us. They don't receive information the same way we do. We find ourselves constantly communicating in a less-than-effective way with others and then allowing ourselves to get frustrated when the other person is not on the same page because we aren't taking time to understand the other person.

One of the main tools to help communication is understanding the Personality Styles of the people you are talking to. Whether you use the DISC+ profile (our preferred method) or some other tool, make sure that it helps you better understand the other person and therefore communicate more effectively.

What does this look like? It means asking questions, gaining perspective, and listening to the other person.

Check our "Understanding Personality Styles" blog and answer these questions to identify your team members:

For Dominant (D) Styles:

• Who on my team thrives under pressure and isn’t afraid of taking risks?
• Am I too direct with a dominant personality, or do I collaborate effectively without stepping on toes?

For Influential (I) Styles:

• Who lights up the room with their enthusiasm and keeps morale high?
• How do I balance fun and focus when working with highly influential personalities?

For Stable (S) Styles:

• Who consistently supports the team and prefers avoiding conflicts?

• Do I give stable personalities the time and reassurance they need to adapt to changes?

For Cautious (C) Styles:

• Who is the perfectionist on the team, ensuring all details are flawless?
• How do I ensure cautious individuals don’t feel overwhelmed by quick decisions or last-minute changes?

So, here's the deal: You can continue to communicate to others as if you were communicating with yourself and constantly be frustrated OR you can take the time to understand the other person, communicate in a way that meets them where they are, and find yourself not wasting time trying to re-explain things. You get to make the choice. But, if you really want to serve yourself, your team, your customers, and your family, let me encourage you to spend time getting to know who you are talking to.