Leaders and Communications

Effective Leaders rely on communication to interact and convey thoughts, ideas and feelings towards other people. Poor Leaders today often practice another form of communication called "ghosting." This communication "ghosting" is becoming more prevalent in our society. It is a combination of unwillingness to engage other humans on an intimate level coupled with the desire to remain anonymous in all aspects of human relations.

This creates artificial barriers to effective communication and leads to apathy towards relationships, misunderstandings and a disconnect in the workplace. In other words, he or she becomes a ghost.

And the worst thing is this. Conflicts become escalated. A small thing now becomes a big thing. Mountains grow from these molehills.
The end result; the person practicing this strategy becomes isolated, unable to lead teams effectively, uncommunicative and un-influential, a poor Leader.

Here are 5 strategies to start to process of learning to communicate and becoming an effective Leader.

First, start by describing the results of poor communication in a work environment. Ask the other person to describe how they see the situation. Ask them if they can see themselves becoming more effective at communication and how that affects their career. Help them see themselves as effective communicators and how that enhances their careers.

Next, help the person select an appropriate course of action that includes seminars and workshops on communication, leadership courses and building a reading list of preferred authors. Have the person being counseled report back on a monthly basis what he or she learned from reading and studying. Ask them to lead small study groups or Lunch and Learns in the workplace, sharing the information they have learned with others.

Then they become the meeting facilitators. They become the face of the company, meeting with customers and suppliers, if possible. Maybe they become the voice on the phone for follow-ups, or the person that collects and correlates employee survey information. Any activity that causes them to interact with any other person is desirable.

Another strategy is to have them organize and plan company functions, or trade shows or community events. All of these cause the person to interact with others outside of their comfort zone and become easier with initiation of communications.

Finally, congratulate them on their efforts. Let them know what they have accomplished. They will start to appreciate the results of effective communications and in turn, become effective leaders.

Article Source

Leaders and Communications