What Your Team Needs from You – Good Communication

To paraphrase John Maxwell, if you think you’re a leader but no one is following you, then you’re just out taking a walk. Whether you are leading a team, an organization, or a movement, how do you avoid just taking walks? Over my years in leadership, I’ve discovered a several factors that are key to attracting, keeping, and developing good team members. I’ll be sharing these over the next few posts.

Number One – Good Communication

Every good leader that I have worked with has been a good communicator. This is much more than being a good presenter. It involves listening skills and the ability to be empathetic. Poor to mediocre leaders do more talking than listening. That’s usually a sign of insecurity. I once worked with a person who would start filibustering whenever he didn’t want to give an honest answer. He thought he was talking his way out of it. Instead, he was only confirming his lack of transparency.

Good communication is also clear communication. When there is clear expectations, people are more likely to meet those expectations. When the expectations are unclear, the outcome will be hit or miss – and more likely to be a miss. When the leader sends mixed signals, it might send people off in very different directions. Or, it might simply paralyze them, resulting in no action at all.

A leader who wants to move the ball forward will be open to the ideas and suggestions of others. Since good communication is a two-way street, healthy teams freely share feedback but do so in a constructive way. How a leader handles feedback from others will determine whether or not that leader is receiving the best ideas and input.

Any investment you make in becoming a better communicator is an investment in your team.