Effective communication is the key to effective leadership. When you are able to articulate what your goals are to others within your organization, the people that you serve will dive into their work with focus and direction as they serve the entire organization. Leaders, we set the culture of the organization to have healthy and honest two-way conversations that lead to incredible creativity and productivity.
Styles of Communication
It is important to note that not everyone you serve is going to communicate in the same way. Being a strong leader requires knowing how to communicate with and lead various groups within the organization. However, when you communicate clearly, personalized, and honestly with people they will feel comfortable sharing with you how they feel best supported. By asking for feedback in your communication and leadership style trust and acknowledgement is created in every relationship.
Thoughtful Questioning
When there is a culture of honesty and individual truth within the organization people will feel more comfortable experimenting with creativity and pushing themselves to accomplish quality work. In addition to communication, there is thoughtful questioning that is vital to identifying parts that aren’t working so well. Asking better questions push boundaries and propel our organizations forward to reach all goals, including relationship goals. Stay curious and interested in everyone and everything. The first step and most important question is, Why?
Asking why helps people we serve dig into why the work they are doing will be effective within our organizations. What does it truly accomplish? And is it meeting the objectives of the organization? Does it meet their own goals and is it improving their skills? We must believe it is important to know our followers as they want to know their work matters. We are all passionate on some level about the work we do and we want to feel we are contributing to the organization, and that helps anyone towards their own goals.
Productivity is often dehumanized within organizations. We would prefer to look at numbers before we have to face the people behind them. I encourage you to humanize those numbers and look at why those numbers are what they are. Communicate with the people that you serve, talk about what they want and need to feel supported in their work. Please ask thoughtful questions that will elevate everyone’s thinking, including your own!
Join Aden Leadership on February 4th for THE LEADERSHIP Development Day. Take one day to put intention into your communication and hear about fellow leaders experiences within their organizations. Start asking yourself why you are a leader and register for the day to gain insight and inspiration for how to drive yourself and the people you serve towards creative, honest, and effective communication. Register for THE LEADERSHIP Development Day now!
“Employees who question you and push you in a healthy debate can be productive; those who work behind the scenes to generate conflict are not.”
~ Eric Holtzclaw
In Service,
Greg
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