You’re Communicating. They’re Listening. But Are You Connecting?

With the content-rich world we live and work in today, communicating effectively is more important than ever. As a leader, your messaging competes not only with the conversations your team members have verbally and with emails that may be sent, but it is also competing with real-time instant messaging platforms today. While these platforms are intended to make your work environment even more efficient, they can be equally distracting… quite literally right in the middle of the meetings you hold. And these are only internal factors to consider; add in the external factors, and it’s a proverbial jungle out there to maneuver through on your trek to lead your team to success. So, how do you manage it? How do you, as a leader, ensure the messages you are framing are received as intended? How well is your communication driving the actions and results you seek? If you feel less than effective, look below at how you can evaluate your performance and improve your communication skills.

Why Does Your Communication as a Leader Mean So Much?

First, though, let’s take a step back and look at why communication is so crucial to leadership in the first place. If a leader’s role is to influence their followers to do what they ask of them towards organizational goals willingly, then it is arguable that it is impossible to be a great leader without effective communication.[1] Through authentic communication, leaders articulate their values, beliefs, and vision in a way that relates to others and drives desired behaviors.[2] Effective communication, followed by keeping promises and commitments, builds a foundation of trust that binds the team together and is critical to maintaining the relationship.[3] Additionally, when leaders communicate effectively, not only does the leader share knowledge, but they create a psychologically safe environment for the exchanging of innovative ideas, empowering followers to truly be part of the decision-making process.[4]

Moreover, with over three-quarters of all U.S. companies conducting business internationally, multicultural management is also fundamental.[5] Approaching the management of diverse teams with assimilation (simply ignoring differences) is not enough.[6] Proper multicultural management requires genuine efforts of integration and inclusion on a leader’s part in recognizing differences in cultural norms and communication styles.[7] Leaders must create opportunities for growth and competitiveness by creating a psychologically safe environment where differences are welcomed and valued.[8] Leaders can do this by being more accessible and supportive, inviting input from others when making decisions, and encouraging and appreciating divergent viewpoints.[9] ?

How Do Your Communication Skills Measure Up?

So as a leader, how do your communication skills measure up? Or the first question may be… when was the last time you measured your communication skills? As leaders, it is vital for us to commit to evaluating our current communication style and techniques on a regular basis. This can be done through both qualitative and quantitative means with the following five key areas in consideration: participation, satisfaction, understanding, belief, and action.[10] Your organization’s Human Resources department or an external Executive Coach can work with you to design and/or leverage industry-standard assessment tools for both your self-reflection and for you to gain constructive feedback from others in evaluating the effectiveness of your communication.[11]

When choosing the tools to leverage, incorporate those that help you measure not only your written and verbal communication skills but also your non-verbal body language and listening skills.[12] Below are five overarching areas to consider building survey questions to touch on[13] :

1.????? Are your messages clear and consistent with the company’s vision?

2.????? Are your team members engaged when you communicate?

3.????? ?Do you adapt your communication to your audience?

4.????? Do you frequently ask questions and actively listen to your followers?

5.????? Are you approachable and open to regular feedback?

While surveys conducted anonymously or through a third party can provide insightful perspectives, strong leaders also make a conscious effort to observe how their messages are received, self-reflect on their communication, and create a safe space for team members to provide honest feedback regularly[14] . By continually analyzing your communication’s effectiveness, you can identify areas of strength to lean into further and those areas in which you may need to improve to take your leadership to the next level.

How Can You Level Up Your Communication?

Once you've evaluated your communication, the next step is to enhance your skills. Based on the feedback you receive and the self-reflection you complete, you will want to establish a tangible number of SMART goals and action plans in relation to the areas in which you want to improve.[15] Depending on how great your developmental needs are and how much time and finances you can contribute to your efforts, there are an array of tools you can tap into to improve your communication skills. Below is a table of options to consider based on the time and finances you can contribute to your leadership development regarding communication. As your developmental needs increase, the time you will need to invest will also increase. Additionally, depending on the finances you can invest or the financial resources your organization is willing to contribute, higher-touch solutions become more accessible.

Research shows that communication competence is foundational to the effectiveness of leaders as a necessary precondition for a high-quality leader-member exchange relationship.[16] Effective leaders clearly and transparently communicate priorities to their employees, celebrate their employees as “whole people,” and create a learning environment that ensures all team members feel safe to contribute and feel heard as valuable contributors.[17] In considering the content-rich world we live in today, where global interactions are becoming the norm, understanding the role of effective communication in leadership is more crucial than ever. By continually improving your communication skills, you can build stronger relationships with your team members and improve their performance toward your goals and vision for the future. As John Maxwell said, “Leaders must be close enough to relate to others but far enough ahead to motivate them."[18]

[1] Eisenberg, E. M., Goodall, H. L., & Trethewey, A. (2016). Organizational Communication: Balancing Creativity and Constraint (8th ed.). Bedford/Saint Martin’s. p. 286.

[2] Eisenberg, Goodall, & Trethewey. Organizational Communication: Balancing Creativity and Constraint. p. 286.

[3] Scandura, T. A., Pellegrini, E. K. (2008). Trust and leader-member exchange: A closer look at relational vulnerability. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 15(2), 101-110. p. 8.

[4] Alblooshi, M., Shamsuzzaman, M., & Haridy, S. (2021). The relationship between leadership styles and organisational innovation: A systematic literature review and narrative synthesis. [Leadership and organisational innovation] European Journal of Innovation Management, 24(2), 338-370. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-11-2019-0339.p 4-6.

[5] Eisenberg, Goodall, & Trethewey. Organizational Communication: Balancing Creativity and Constraint. p. 10.

[6] Pless, N. M., & Maak, T. (2004). Building an Inclusive Diversity Culture: Principles, Processes and Practice. Journal of Business Ethics, 54(2), 129–147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-004-9465-8 . p. 3.

[7] Pless & Maak. Building an Inclusive Diversity Culture: Principles, Processes and Practice. p. 3.

[8] Northouse, P.G. (2021). Leadership theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 9th edition. p. 323.

[9] Northouse, P.G. Leadership theory and practice. p. 329.

[10] Davis, A., & Shannon, J. (2011). How to Measure the Effectiveness of HR Communication (1st edition). Pearson.

[11] Johnson, C. E., & Hackman, M. Z. (2018). Leadership: a communication perspective (7th ed). Waveland Press. p. 411-412.

[12] Orey, M. (2015). Communication skills training (2nd edition). ATD Press.

[13] Bell, C.R. & Goldsmith, M. (2013). Managers as mentors: building partnerships for learning. San Francisco:

Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. p. 44-49.

[14] Johnson & Hackman. Leadership: a communication perspective. p. 34-35.

[15] Orey, M. (2015). Communication skills training (2nd edition). ATD Press.

[16] Flauto, F. J. (1999). Walking the Talk: The Relationship Between Leadership and Communication Competence. Journal of Leadership Studies, 6(1–2), 86–97. https://doi.org/10.1177/107179199900600106

[17] Friedman, S., Christensen, P., & DeGroot, J. (1998). Work and life: The end of the zero-sum game. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved August 13, 2024, from https://hbr.org/1998/11/work-and-life-the-end-of- the-zero-sum-game

[18] YouTube. (2021). Q&A with John Maxwell: Inside His Best Quotes. Retrieved August 13, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3wfAGIf3y4 .