Communication and Leadership

Regular attendees at our courses will know that one of the key things we always talk about is communication. There is no getting away from it - communication is absolutely integral to leadership!

Communication is the vessel through which all leadership flows. It is the lifeblood of leadership. As leaders, we can't just tell people what to do. Leadership requires persuasion, encouragement, influence, and motivation. All this happens through communication. And almost all workplace problems come back to two things - poor communication and poor leadership.

Communication doesn't just carry information, it carries culture. A harmonious workplace only exists because of the communication that builds that culture. A toxic workplace is toxic because of how people communicate (or don't communicate). Good leaders understand communication as the foundation of the organisation and use it to shape and build workplace culture. They elevate communication from a functional undertaking to an essential element of the workplace and of their leadership.

Workplace Communication Skills

Communication is inherently personal, as it is how others come to know us and how we represent ourselves to others. Within an organisation, communication carries culture, while on an individual level, communication carries our personality. Some people may not be open to the idea of enhancing their communication skills because of how deeply communication and our sense of self are tied. Hearing that there is room for improvement in our communication can be challenging and distressing, as it can threaten our sense of identity and self-esteem. It goes to the fundamentals of who we are.

Therefore, communication training must be highly supportive and engaging. The communication habits we develop throughout our lives are deeply ingrained and personal. Modifying these habits requires self-awareness and very deliberate, conscious, and sustained effort; otherwise, we will quickly revert to our usual patterns. Effecting this change is something we specialise in assisting our clients with to ensure that the changes are ingrained. The good news is that even minor improvements or changes in our communication style can significantly enhance individual communication abilities and impact the workplace positively. Improving a skill like communication has a 'multiplier effect'—it opens new channels and motivates others to enhance their communication as well.

Workplaces that prioritise a culture of learning and emphasise the significance of communication are less prone to facing such problems. When leaders engage in training and enhance their own communication skills, they send a strong message to their team by 'leading by example.'

Communication skills are central to leadership.

How do we train Communication Skills?

The first step to training communication skills is raising self-awareness. Because communication skills are so personal, it takes real introspection and self-examination to alter them. Without self-awareness, the individual will struggle to make meaningful changes. Once the individual has an understanding of their own communication and how it impacts on others, they are then primed to make the most of any communication training. The best way to train in communication is to practise it, so role-playing, interactive activities, and writing activities provide opportunities to cement learning and growth.

For example, in our effective writing short course we use interactive written activities to help train participants to express their ideas clearly and confidently in written form. Presentation and communication skills likewise can be honed through practise, using role-playing scenarios based on real-life. Using a hands-on approach not only helps to build confidence but also promotes teamwork and collaboration.

An open and highly supportive group training environment helps promote better communication skills. Through open conversations, team members can practice articulating their thoughts and venturing opinions while learning from one another.

Writing skills are best trained through practise.

The Role of Active Listening

Listening is as important as speaking and writing in communication. Using active listening helps make listening central to the communication process, as it should be. It means devoting our attention to the speaker, fully concentrating, understanding, responding, and remembering what is being said. By practising active listening, employees can improve relationships with colleagues and clients alike.

Good leaders understand that communication is not just the exchanging of information - it also has an emotional component. Improving the way individuals communicate within the workplace will also improve understanding. By listening not just for the informational content but also the emotional content, team members can achieve greater understanding, avoiding the misunderstandings that lead to confusion, disputes, conflict, and animosity.

Active listening builds stronger teams through understanding, trust, and respect. These stronger connections facilitate better collaboration, better communication, and better outcomes for everyone in the organisation.

Cultivating Empathy in Communication

Workplaces that don't value empathy don't value communication. There is no successful communication without empathy - the emotional content of a message has as much importance as the actual message, sometimes more. We also can't successfully communicate without understanding the perspectives of others. Good leaders often excel at this. They make people feel valued and heard, even when there are differences of opinion or opposing views. They shape their communication to meet the needs of those around them, and they understand the importance of empathy and emotions.

Training for empathy in communication again requires introspection and self-reflection. We understand others by raising our own self-awareness. This then allows us to put ourselves in someone else's shoes and understand their agenda, needs, concerns, and preferences. It helps us to find common ground when there are differences or conflict. Besides self-reflection embedded in all our training programmes, we also recommend our Self-Awareness through TMP and Emotional Intelligence training. Psychometric profiling tools such as TMP, the most prominent work-based profiling system in the world, provides a system that helps to raise our understanding of ourselves and others. We can then alter the framing, pacing, and focus of our messaging to communicate with clarity and purpose with our team.

Emotional Intelligence and empathy are synonymous, and emotional intelligence provides a system through which the individual can raise their self-awareness and their receptiveness to the emotions of others. By understanding their emotions and how they affect their interactions with others, they can communicate more effectively and build stronger relationships.

Training our people in empathy does something else really important that is often overlooked. Training that emphasises empathy signals to the workplace that we value people not just as inputs into production or service processes, we value them as individuals with feelings, preferences, and emotions. By training our people in empathy, we empower them to practice empathy and to lead with empathy.

Final Thoughts on Enhancing Leadership through Communication Skills

Leadership and communication skills go hand in hand. Taking a holistic view and creating a culture that values communication (and communication training) at all levels helps to embed good communication skills and also leads to good leadership skills.  Building this culture is an ongoing process that requires commitment from all employees but needs to be led from the top.

When communication flows, it makes every aspect of the workplace better. It leads to a great many benefits for the organisation and its people, including greater job satisfaction, productivity, better strategic alignment, stronger morale, enhanced collaboration, and stronger connections.