Effective Communication: How to Lead with Listening and Clarity

In the workplace, communication skills are almost as important as the actual technicalities of your job.

Fail to communicate effectively and you risk alienating colleagues, upsetting clients and delivering work that doesn’t meet the requirements needed.

That’s why we have a whole section for communication on the website: it’s an essential skill for life and work.

Good communication is even more important for leaders, as you’ll be communicating constantly: giving instructions, sharing feedback and motivating your team, so in this article, we’ll be sharing advice to polish up your skills

Create a communicative environment

As a leader, it’s so important to foster an environment where communication is encouraged. A team that communicates well, collaborates well. Make sure your team feel confident in communicating with you and others (in the knowledge that you’ll have their back).

You can also set clear communication processes, for example a guide for which communication channels to use for certain situations, for example that feedback should be communicated verbally to avoid it being misconstrued, or reports should be sent via email not Teams or Slack, so they can be found easily.

Set an example of asking questions and encouraging others to do the same and you’ll create a safe space for everyone to communicate freely.

Keep it simple

Keep instructions and feedback clear and direct, don’t leave room for misunderstanding. Try not to ramble or overcomplicate things.

Clear communication means less chance of misunderstanding or misinterpretation and therefore better outcomes.

A piece of regular feedback from neurodivergent employees in particular is that unclear instructions or requests have led to them completing work differently than expected. Leave no room for doubt about what needs to be done.

Tailor your communication style to others

Not everyone has the same preferences when it comes to communication style.

For example, one of my colleagues is a call someone up and hash out a solution kinda guy. Personally, that’s my worst nightmare - I like to have everything in writing so I can process it and refer back to it later if needed.

As a leader, you need to know your audience. To get the best out of your team, you’ll want to figure out how they best receive instructions and feedback.

Don’t be all talk

Communication is a two-way exchange. It isn’t just about telling people what to do and expecting them to get on with it.

If we want space to be heard, we must provide it to others as well, particularly those who are under our leadership.

In addition to it being basic manners, listening to others will provide you with valuable insights and feedback which you may otherwise not have.

Understand non-verbal communication

Communication isn’t shown purely through words.

Observe non-verbal communication so you can understand when a member of your team may be feeling upset, left out or concerned and can act accordingly.

Not a lot of people do this, so it will really help you to create trust with your colleagues.

Start practicing these tips and you’ll start developing better relationships and be contributing to a better work culture.