“Communication Skills” is one of the top three (out of 50!) most important skills for good leadership.
This is according to the Workplace Learning Report Survey, in which 500 Learning and Development professionals were interviewed.
Even without my sharing that statistic, you probably know this intuitively already!
I’ve been a communications coach for over 30 years and worked with countless leaders in many different types of businesses. I’ve seen the need—and the impact—firsthand.
Using methods we developed at Mandel, we’ve been able to help leaders greatly improve their skills regardless of their mode of communication—whether internal emails, presentations in front of very large audiences, and everything in between.
Today, I want to give you a view into what those methods are. So here are two important tips on how to move your leadership communication skills forward.
- Use a strategic communication process.
Without a structured approach, your communications can be all over the place—sometimes too little, sometimes too much, sometimes just not clear.Mandel’s Blueprint® and SCI-PAB® storytelling and messaging tools can help you smartly and consistently plan any type of communication.
First, start with a clear view of who your audience is and what you want to accomplish with them. Then, clarify your core message and fill in the needed details. It’s possible your core message will be enough, like in a short email. SCI-PAB is the perfect tool for crafting these kinds of classic “executive summaries.”
Or, you may need to add more data, slides, stories, demos, etc. to accomplish your goal. That’s when the Blueprint can help you organize your main point and supporting data into a narrative sequence that will resonate with your audience.
- Over-communicate.
I’m not going to say too much about this one, except: do it, please! We often assume that we’ve clearly communicated a message and that it was heard “loud and clear” by all. But think about the “noise” everyone has to contend with today.We’re bombarded by emails, text messages, phone calls, meetings, virtual presentations, conversations, etc. All of this incoming info competes with and often overshadows your message.
That’s why it’s important to double down on important communications. Give yourself and your listeners some insurance. One of the ways to do that is to send the same message in multiple formats.
For example, whatever you say in-person at the next team meeting, also follow-up with the same message via email. Or, if you communicate a message via email, send the same email message again but with a slightly different subject line or minor variation in content.
Great communication from leadership is critical to making progress on goals, to job satisfaction, and to avoiding the steep cost of poor communication.
Contact us to talk about how we can help you achieve your goals.
