Communication and its Organizational Impact on Team Unity and Productivity
One important component of effective leadership is understanding the organizational impact that communication has on the organization. It means understanding that communication is not just about giving orders or delegating responsibilities. Communication is an effective tool that allows managers to reach the company’s overall objectives while supervising a team of people to executive specific tasks. Therefore, it is important to assess your own abilities as a communicator to ensure your team can work efficiently under your leadership.
Leaders interested in working in a pleasant and productive environment are willing to ask their staff for feedback.
These leaders want to know how the staff responds to their announcements by observing their behavior, the time it takes for tasks to reach completion, the staff’s body language and their feedback about assignments. Was the staff clear about what was needed, when, how and why it was necessary?
Effective leaders are interested in not just speaking, but listening to others. These leaders are emotionally intelligent and can hear where they may need to improve as leaders so the company can reach its goals.
Knowing when to communicate is just as important as how to speak.
Sharing important information with staff at the end of the work day, five minutes before closing, is probably not a good time to have your staff’s complete attention.
Effective leadership communicates early in the day in an organized manner that informs and motivates the listeners. The leader will allot time for employees to ask questions or address concerns as soon as possible and respond in a manner that is respectful, patient and clear. Leaders who want to succeed understand that the team supports the leader and vice versa. Taking the time to listen to the employees is time well spent in the long run.
Different learning styles for different people.
Effective leadership understands the organizational impact of showing someone how to do a job versus telling someone. Some prefer to be shown what to do while others are great at hearing the instructions and moving from there. Depending on your industry or your organization’s needs, assigning someone to handle people that take direction better from watching someone do it might be a good use of the company’s resources.
Overall, effective leadership is committed to communicating effectively to positively impact the organization as a whole. Each department within an organization is one component of a whole unit. Leaders interested in increasing productivity, delivering quality service and seeing customers return will take the time to groom their leadership in ways that promote smooth operations among all company personnel. If you’re a leader looking to fast-track your leadership development training, take a minute to contact us and see how we can help!