How is your team doing when it comes to communicating? As a leader, would you say that you’re a great communicator?
We think we know how to communicate, right? But do we really?
It is so much harder than we think.
The Problem: Clear Communication Isn’t Always Enough…
When we’re talking with our team, we try to be thoughtful, sensitive and respectful. We try to show our team that we value them and care about what they think. We try to show we are present—for example, we don’t look at our phone or watch to check the time.
But at the end of the day, despite our valiant efforts, we don’t always connect with our team in the way we hoped. We could be doing all of those things, yet our team member is staring blankly back at us, or crossing their arms and turning beet red.
We’ve all had these experiences, right? Times when we thought we were communicating clearly and effectively, only to be baffled by the other person’s response.
Like the time that you thought it was going so well until they hung up the phone and immediately called someone to complain about how thoughtless and demanding you are.
Or that time they started crying.
Or the time they turned in their resignation the next day—that was definitely the worst.
I will stop now. Did I make my point? It can be hard to communicate! The best of intentions can sometimes get you nowhere.
The Solution: Master the Art of Communication
It isn’t enough to communicate clearly.
We need to master the art of conversation. This requires a lot of learning, a lot of trial and error—just like learning to dance. You can’t take four steps in a box and become a dancer. You have to devote time and energy and practice to it.
The problem is, we were sold a false bill of goods. We are so often taught that if we are “nice” and “thoughtful” and learn to “listen,” that’s all it takes to communicate—the cake is baked, we are good.
Think again!
It is a landmine out there. A landmine full of perceptions, power struggles, insecurities and FEELINGS, often hidden feelings. It’s easy to trigger an explosion of emotions without even trying.
So what can you do about it?
Here’s the good news: we can learn to navigate the landmine with caring, compassionate conversations.
6 Steps to Become an Awesome Communicator at Work
Learning to communicate well is a journey. You won’t become an even greater communicator overnight. But that doesn’t mean you can’t uplevel your communication game! Here are 6 steps you can take today to be an amazing communicator.
- Assess. Do an assessment to see where you are at as a communicator. Find out what people think of how you communicate now, and assess your communication skill level with listening, being present, conveying thoughts clearly, being positive, non-judgemental, non-defensive, etc.
- Observe. Mindfully observe others communicating with yourself and others. Identify the top three traits you appreciate as well as the top three you want to avoid at all costs.
- Practice. Pick one thing you want to tackle to improve your ability to have conversations. Come up with tactics to do this and experiment! Evaluate your response.
- Improve. Get input from someone you totally and absolutely trust on how you are doing.
- Reflect. Figure out what kinds of conversations you are avoiding and why, and get support from a mentor, coach, peer, friend or family member to talk through and practice having these conversations.
- Celebrate! Celebrate you! You are an innovator! You are someone that is growing and investing in great relationships. A conversation can change things! Have great conversations!
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At The Human Priority, we believe in high collaboration, high trust, high respect. We believe in creating workplaces where you can have co-conversations and a sense of community. This is what creates the Workplace Fairytale! This is where people come together and do awesome, great, phenomenal things together. We can help you accomplish this! Learn more about our business consulting services.
