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How To Leverage Diversity Of Your Team
Communicating With Purpose
By Dr, Paul L. Gerhardt, PhD
Ever wonder why some teams get more done than others? I put full-responsibility on the leader. Leaders must never forget that their team is only as strong as the leader allows it to be. A leader must make sure that every employee is setup for success. The best skill a leader must possess in order to know what he/she needs to know is communication skills. Being able to communicate efficiently with employees is a skill that every leader must possess. He or she should be able to give clear instructions, listen to their opinions and coherently express the task and expectations.
Communicating with purpose reduces misunderstanding and creates a healthy work environment. It strengthens the bonding between employer and employee and gets the job done more efficiently too. This short article will discuss a few ways through which all you leaders out there can establish open communication lines with their team. After following the advice below, you’ll be surprised to see how quickly the job gets done.
1. Hold open meetings
Open meetings are the most efficient way to discuss issues with your whole team at the same time. It is much easier to communicate an idea to people through personal interaction rather than an email or call. Moreover, calling everyone at the same time and telling them the same things eliminates any chance of misunderstanding within the team or questions of a person not being informed. Employees prefer to have the whole matter out in the clear before them and hiding things or not be able to communicate the point effectively can easily create confusion and chaos.
2. One on One meetings
When a leader wishes to talk to someone in private she can ask to host a personal conference with them instead of an open meeting. In this way some issue which maybe only the person in question is facing can be smoothly resolved without the matter being known by the whole office. Make sure that proper eye contact is made with the employee to most effectively communicate the message.
3. Be clear and confident
Confidence and clarity is the key to good communication. Speak in a loud, clear and, steady voice to express yourself. Avoid using big words which the general workforce will find difficult to understand. The tone of your speech should be varied depending on the type of meeting or message.
4. Send emails
Emails are an easy way to communicate information to everyone at once, especially if the group is too large to address in a single meeting. Emails need to be formal, respectful and to the point to be taken seriously. They are however, not as effective as a face-to-face discussion.
5. Be the example of your message
If the words to be communicated are intended to make your employees more culturally sensitive, then at first become more culturally sensitive yourself. Reach out to your diver’s employees by talking to them; make a point of celebrating religious and cultural holidays. Brush up on your knowledge of the world and gradually, you shall see your workforce doing the same.
6. Encourage open discussion
Feedback and communication from your employees should be highly encouraged. Thank the people who are attempting to express their opinions and begin a lively discussion, praise their bravery and you shall see others speaking up as well. Nowadays, bosses do not just tell their employees what to do; they must listen to their feedback and implement it into their own plans as well.
A leader who can communicate effectively is a person who can leverage the diversity of their teams. It is a skill that should be sharpened and honed as much as possible. Of course, you probably already knew this, but do you always consider whether or not you are using the right type of communication and channel? Sometimes going back to the basics can build a solid foundation for the future and can help continue to build upon it without the pesky challenges of having to fix the significant damage done because of the assumption that others are in your head and see things the exact way you do.
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Dr. Paul Gerhardt is a tenured professor of management. He is a diversity and leadership well-respected and trusted trainer who helps organizations get amazing returns on investment. Dr. Gerhardt is the author of several publications available on Amazon.com, including Diversity at Work, The Diversity King; Leadership Lucy and the new upcoming Leadership Handbook. Consider inviting Dr. Paul Gerhardt to do customized leadership or diversity training at your organization. Most organizations find that diversity and leadership training by the right trainer yields a significant instant return on investment. You can get your FREE COPY of the Leadership Handbook by clicking this link: http://bit.ly/LeadershipHandbook
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