Perhaps the most critically important aspect of effective leadership is the ability to communicate with others. Admirable decision-making abilities, a willingness to delegate and/or the capacity to envision the future, don’t count for much if you’re unable to connect with the people you lead.
Unfortunately, busy executives aren’t always conscious of the fact that employees aren’t getting what they’re saying. Intentionally or not, these business leaders exhibit certain types of behavior that obstruct, rather than facilitate, the kind of communication that fosters teamwork and growth.
Unless those behaviors change, the organization will be stuck in place. Worse yet, frustrated employees may jump ship in search of a more transparent company culture.
Here are five telltale signs that you’re not communicating effectively with your employees:
Unwillingness to address uncomfortable topics
Some business leaders simply can’t handle confrontation. Instead, they overcompensate in the opposite direction, dancing around an uncomfortable topic, and blaming the need to address an issue on someone else. For example, saying something along the lines of, “I don’t have a problem with how you handled your recent project, but someone else was grumbling about it in the marketing department.”
As a result, the employee whose behavior needs changing walks away from the conversation with no clear idea of what was discussed. In situations like this, the undesired behavior will continue, further exasperating the person who wouldn’t address it directly in the first place.
Letting emotions get out of control
There are successful leaders who nonetheless have occasional anger-management issues. Or, as noted above, they’ve avoided confronting an issue for so long that when a fresh incident occurs, they just lose it — haranguing an employee who simply can’t understand what all the fuss is about. Not only is this ineffective communication, but it fosters the impression that the person in charge really isn’t, and is certainly not in charge of their own behavior.
Halley Bock, CEO and president of Fierce, Inc., a leadership development and training company, said that no matter how valid one’s complaints, one always looks a little crazy when they lose control of their emotions.
“What’s more, your unfortunate employee is so overwhelmed by the rapid-fire feedback that there is no conceivable way she can parse through it all,” she added.
Whether you hate confrontation or your behavior is sometimes too confrontational, the solution is to always being direct with employees. Outline your specific issue or complaint (in a calm, non-threatening tone) and discuss clear action steps they can take to correct the situation.
Failing to prepare employees for important changes
Certain situations demand the most effective communications possible, such as when a company embarks on reorganization. In too many cases, however, executives are so busy formulating a plan that they fail to keep employees informed about what lies ahead. In such a communications vacuum, rumors and confusion thrive — resulting in damaged morale and a lack of enthusiasm for the upcoming change.
While it’s not always practical to announce details about an important change ahead of time, nonetheless, leaders should do some groundwork before issuing a blanket announcement.
Steve Robbins, CEO of the consulting and coaching firm Stever Robbins, Inc., advises a different approach in a recent blog post.
“Rather than announcing a controversial decision to an entire group, prep people one-on-one,” he said. “Learn who will object, and why. Then address the concerns raised in response to your statement.”
Not hearing bad news until it’s too late
There’s an interesting side effect of moving up the corporate ladder. The higher up you go, the less likely it is you’ll hear bad news from those who report to you. Even if you’re unaware of it, your communications style may discourage employees from coming to you with a problem.
“The more power you have, the less you’ll hear about problems,” Robbins added. “If you want an honest assessment of a problem, seek out bad news. Welcome it. And when it comes, show your appreciation.”
Underestimating an employee’s intelligence
Key business issues are often complex and difficult to understand, even for the executives involved. But leaders charged with communicating to employees about these issues sometimes err on the side of over-simplification. They assume that these individuals can’t grasp the nuances of the issue, so they don’t even try to get the key points across. It’s a dangerous assumption to make.
A more effective approach relies on assuming the opposite — that by making the effort to clarify a situation or problem, you will succeed in communicating to the people you lead. (After all, helping people understand is a vital element of effective communications.) The more employees understand, the more motivated they are to help address the problem themselves.
It’s even possible your staff will come up with solutions no one else has considered before. Then, everyone wins.
