When I work with leadership teams doing professional development in communication, I often get asked, “Why do I have to change how I communicate?” I think that question really means something like, “I have been successful this far in my career. If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”
Regardless of your step on the organization’s food chain, you can be a leader and influence positive communication practices. When you look at the communication in your team, ask yourself these questions:
- How does the team typically communicate messages?
- Are there communication tools that some team members will not use?
- Are there communication guidelines, or does the team use their communication preferences?
How does the team typically communicate messages? Consider how noncritical messages are communicated versus critical messages. Is every piece of communication an IM, email, or phone call, regardless of its level of importance?
Are there communication tools that some team members will not use? This can be a struggle for even the most cohesive team. If a team member is not using a communication channel or method, they will be left out of the loop, or even worse, the team will begin to resent them.
Are there communication guidelines, or does the team use their communication preferences? Are there guidelines for communicating messages as an organization or department? These guidelines could be broad (e.g., all messages should receive a response within one business day) or more specific (e.g., all clients must receive a response in the method they used within one business day, and all internal employees should receive a response within two business days).
It may seem like micro-managing to have guidelines regarding communication, but have you ever had a colleague on PTO and no one knew about it? Has your manager ever been unreachable only to realize she was presenting to a client? Has a client ever sent an email that got lost in someone’s inbox, and the client never received a response? These are entirely avoidable if there are some guidelines for your team.
The most essential part of communication guidelines is everyone should have a say. This is where it could get a little tricky. A leader who doesn’t want to change their communication style might not be pleased that their entire team wants to use IM (Slack, Teams, etc.) for informal team communication. Another team member might not be happy about the turnaround times for communication. Everyone will have to do a little bit of compromising. The result will be a team that knows the ground rules and communicates more consistently.
You might be wondering what to do if you have leadership who doesn’t have the team work together on communication skills. I mean, I said you can influence positive communication practices. So, how do you do that?
Consistency
Decide the method and timeframe you will use when responding to messages. Use all the communication channels the team uses. Model the behavior you would love to see in the team. Over time, your team members will notice they can always count on you to respond. You will begin to look like a leader, even if you are low on the food chain. Then, when you are ready to start managing a team, you are already ahead of the game!
About the Author
Kristy Shinn, MS, CIT, environmental, health, & safety manager at Pennoni, is an accomplished entrepreneur, trainer, and presenter in human capital. As the senior training manager at Pennoni, Kristy develops and expands training to impact all areas of life, from environmental health and safety (EHS) to culture and leadership.
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