Whenever I am asked to speak, whether at the Kellogg School of Management, to groups of CEOs and CFOs, or to hundreds of members of a company sales force, the most requested topic is communication in the context of leadership. For me personally, I find the topic exciting because experience has taught me that this is the one area that gets the most people off track. Even if the organization has diligently defined its values, put the right team in place, and set a clear direction, effective communication doesn't happen automatically.
Effective communication is clear, simple, straightforward, and concise. It does not rely on acronyms and buzzwords, and it certainly isn't meant to show off how smart the speaker is. And just because communication is important does not mean that simply doing more of it will make it effective. Effective communication is about being able to convey information and ideas in an open way so that the message is understood by others.
Numerous factors can undermine effective communication. First, because leaders are very busy and, therefore, usually in a hurry, some may think that a quick explanation is all that is needed. After all, they tell themselves, if the values and the right people are in place and they have taken the time to set a clear direction, how much communicating do they really need to do? Granted, it would be nice to have a staff meeting and explain what is being done and why, but there's no time for that. They've got too much to do. What these leaders fail to realize, however, is that by taking the time to communicate effectively, they strongly increase the probability of getting things accomplished. Just as having the right people in place allows the manager to have more time (as described in Chapter Six), so it is with effective communication.
As a leader, you will undoubtedly discover that committing to effective communication produces a better return on that investment of time than if you relied on a shortcut, such as a hastily written e-mail or a voice mail you leave for your team. When you are typing out that communiqué at midnight, you may be telling yourself how efficient you are, but when your team spends a good deal of time the next morning trying to figure out exactly what you mean and what you want them to do, you'll find that you actually wasted time.
Effective communication is one of the most critical components of leadership because everything else hinges on it. Every person on the team, as well as all stakeholders, must comprehend what is expected of them, what the organization is trying to accomplish, and how they fit into that plan. Nothing could be more important than making sure everyone on the team is engaged. Simply put, there is no such thing as being too busy to communicate.
Engaging in effective communication starts with you. For you to determine how effectively you communicate, you will need to engage in the four principles of values-based leadership, as outlined in Part One. Through self-reflection, balance, true self-confidence, and genuine humility, you will be able to determine just how well you communicate with others, and what you need to do to help your team understand and relate.