Communication In Leadership: How To Communicate With/To Your Employees

Sep, 2019

Communication In Leadership: How To Communicate With/To Your Employees

Communicating effectively with team members requires thoughtfulness, repetition and effort, but it is something which is absolutely essential for leaders who want their business to be successful.

It’s all too easy to underestimate how important communication in leadership can be to any organisation. Yet effective and strong communication with employees is vital, not only so that workers can understand the goals they are working towards but also so they can feel that their opinions are important and are taken on board. When leaders communicate effectively with their employees, productivity and profitability both increase. With this in mind, how can you work towards improving your own communication with your staff?

The Importance Of Openness

When leaders have a culture of open communication within the workplace, workers naturally feel more trusting of their managers. They also feel more valued. When managers delegate tasks without getting input from their team, it stands to reason that employees will never work to their best potential. Something as simple as telling workers why a task must be done rather than simply ordering them to do it fosters a sense of respect for management.

Approachability Is Key

We communicate non-verbally a surprising amount of the time, and so simply telling workers they can approach you at any time is pointless if you display body language which says something completely different. The best managers are aware of their attitude and what they project to their employees. Approachability is key – if you are always rushing or short with workers, it stands to reason that they won’t be comfortable to communicate with you. By maintaining a positive and friendly demeanour, managers can instill a sense of trust amongst their team.

Stay Concise And Clear

The best communicators will get straight to the point with their messages and ensure complete clarity at all times. Technical jargon and “Management Speak” must be banished from the workplace, whether speaking in person to a team member or sending them an email. Without clear language, the chances of miscommunication are high and so is the risk of alienating employees.

Ask For Feedback And Take It On Board

Team feedback is extremely helpful for any business. However, for employee feedback to show its full potential, it’s important for them to know they’re able to communicate openly and critique ideas freely. Fostering a culture where feedback is not only accepted but welcomed is essential, but equally vital is having an environment where workers know that their opinions are valued and taken on board. If necessary, an employee engagement survey could be the way to ensure team members are comfortable enough to give feedback.

Regular Employee Updates

It’s surprisingly common for business leaders to forget to keep their workers informed about company business. Yet, this leaves employees with a feeling that they don’t matter and are solely there to do their manager’s bidding. The result is a barrier being created between team members and their leaders.

Successful managers help their employees to feel connected with their organisation by keeping them up to date with goings on. Inform them about how projects are going, remember to thank them for the successes they have achieved and offer congratulations when it’s due. Even more importantly, be honest about failures rather than trying to place a positive spin on them.

Communicating effectively with employees needn’t be a challenge as long as managers are prepared to put essential changes in place. WIN Human Resource Solutions offer organisational behaviour seminars which help leaders to learn more effective communication skills which they can then put into practice in their workplace. As a result, productivity and profitability can increase substantially.

communication, leadership, managers, organisational behaviour 0

Sep, 2019

By winhrsolutions

Get to Know Your Leadership Style

There are many definitions of what a leadership style is, but often it’s considered to be the approach that a leader takes when creating a direction and setting goals, as well as their main behaviour patterns and the characteristics that they exhibit. Having a good understanding of your leadership style can help you to improve techniques, adjust your style depending on the situation, and achieve a higher level of success when pursuing a vision.

Over the years there have been many models of leadership style presented, with the six styles of leadership model created by Daniel Goleman in 2000 often at their core. One purpose of the six styles of leadership is to give clarity to the way that leadership approach can influence the climate of an organisation and how approach correlates to success in different situations.

Each of the six styles of leadership is very different, but which one would you consider to be your style?

Assertive ‘Come with me’

Assertive leadership can create a very positive environment with a leader that’s focused largely on change and the achievement of a vision. Assertive leaders motivate others, create visions, and guide people towards positive change; they’re self-confident and very empathetic.

Affiliative ‘People come first’

An affiliative leader is a person who aims to create great working relationships and encourage people through difficult situations. Affiliate leadership involves a considerable amount of communication and the development of teamwork to create a positive environment.

Coaching ‘Try this’

Coaching leadership creates a positive environment with a leader that’s focused on skill development and improved performance. Coaching leaders spend a lot of time developing the strengths of others with ready encouragement and feedback.

Coercive ‘Do what I tell you’

Coercive leadership is built on a foundation of problem-solving and is often used in an emergency situation where fast action is required. This style of leadership is very direct with the leader demanding immediate action; coercive leadership normally fosters a negative environment. Many coercive leaders have a high self-control and desire to achieve but are not very flexible.

Democratic ‘What do you think?’

Collaboration is an essential aspect of democratic leadership. Democratic leaders put a high value on communication and teamwork with a desire to get everyone involved in achieving a vision. The high motivation and openness to ideas created under this leadership style generally create a positive environment.

Pacesetting ‘Do as I do now’

Pacesetting leaders lay out their expectations and expect others to follow them without question, which often creates a negative working environment. This style of leadership is focused on achievement and high standards, with a leader who has initiative and is efficient and careful.

In this model of leadership, there’s no single ‘best’ leadership type, but there can be a best style for every unique situation. Understanding what style is required for each situation is one pathway to success as a leader.

At WIN HR Solutions, we understand Talent is scarce and volatile, and managing the human element has never been so complex. We can turn your managers into people managers. Contact us to learn more.

leader, leadership, leadership style, manager 0

Aug, 2019

By winhrsolutions

What is engagement?

Employee engagement is a proven accelerator for growth and business success. The only medium through which the engagement of employees can be achieved is a group of fully dedicated leaders.

Where does engagement begin?

Engaged leaders create engaged employees. Engagement always begins with the leaders, not the employees. If the leaders are trying to motivate the employees to engage and they as leaders are not engaged themselves with their employees, then any investment in engagement training will be basically lost. In most cases, the direct supervisor is the main influence behind an employee’s resignation from a company. If the manager is truly disliked and not approachable, many talented employees will listen to the sirens of job offerors and leave in pursuit of something (or someone) better.

Do leaders’ efforts really count?

Research shows that trustworthy constructive communication is key to employee engagement. However, communication can take many forms, so it is important that the correct media are used when delivering any message or feedback.

The vast majority of employees want to know how their efforts contribute to the goals of the company. It can be highly demotivating for employees to work many hours without really knowing what direction they are taking. Employees will accept the difficult periods if their sense of purpose is clear, and they are given a fair treatment, safety, recognition, and respect. A clear job description and role clarification will explain the essence of what is expected from the employee in the workplace, but they do not solve all problems. Employees will look for direction in their own specific way, their sense of priorities and their need for support may differ, and their understanding of their manager’s expectations may need more or less clarification based on their personality.

Regular interaction and feedback will always encourage engagement from the employee. Great leaders are excellent communicators and great coaches.

Recognition and Feedback, does it make a difference?

We all enjoy receiving recognition for good work and receiving regular praise will again encourage engagement; however, this praise should have meaning and value. Simply telling someone everyday well done when it’s not crystal clear what was done well can have an adverse effect. Feedback is about clarity and facts. It is an important motivator that will also boost employee engagement.

A leader may often have to make difficult decisions for the company, like introducing a major change. If employees feel free to share their thoughts, ideas, and even fears, then engagement will also be guaranteed even during hard times. The employee’s perception of a leader also changes from being the one in charge to actually being the one trying to make a difference.

How companies help leaders boost engagement?

Many managers often fail to engage their employees because they do not understand the mechanisms behind the way an organization functions and the synergies that can be created between its components and the available resources. The major resource, the most expensive and volatile being the human resource.

And there is no training on engagement that will deliver when given to employees. Employees’ engagement is strictly about training and coaching the managers on how to engage the employees.

We firmly believe that leadership skills, including a thorough knowledge of the structures and culture within the organization, a highly developed communication skill, and strong techniques of people management will be the cornerstone of any engagement project. Engage and develop your managers, turn them into leaders, and your employees will ultimately follow.

DEPCO: Tips to managers: How to develop a sense of engagement in employees

Desire. Having the desire to want to see the company and the inspirational leader succeed is a big motivator.

Effort. A joint effort from the team creates group engagement. If one can rely on colleagues as well as the manager for support in good and bad times, the commitment and engagement are strong.

Pride. Inspiring pride in the organization and loyalty (thus longevity) creates a natural engagement.

Communication. Taking the decision to communicate through many media will challenge the fears and pull the workforce together.

Openness. Having the ability and opportunity to speak up and provide recommendations even if they are not quite the answer allows the employee to feel they matter to the company.

We give your business longer life.

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Communication In Leadership: How To Communicate With/To Your Employees