Communication is the foundation of a healthy relationship. In the workplace especially, teams must communicate effectively to ensure deadlines are met and goals are achieved. But it’s up to us, as leaders, to build a culture of communication and lead by example.
Building a culture that values communication is worth the effort – 72% of leaders believe good communication improves productivity.
The question is: where do you begin? How do you cultivate a culture of communication?
1. Clarify Your Expectations of Others
Poor communication is often the result of unclear expectations. As a leader, you have a responsibility to clarify your expectations of others in the area of communication to prevent this from happening.
Remember that creating a culture of communication starts at the top, so lead by example.
What expectations should you be setting?
- Seek to understand others. Everyone in the organization, starting with the leaders themselves, must make understanding others the first priority.
- Be understood by others. If leaders and team members seek to understand others, then it is natural to expect to be understood by others as well.
- Be accepted by others. Effective leaders create an environment of respect where others feel safe communicating without fear of rejection.
- Changes and responses from others. Words should lead to action. Create an environment where communication drives team members to make adjustments as needed to fulfill the organization’s mission. For example: You provide information to a team member, and they are expected to write a report based on that data.
- Be held mutually accountable to each other. Once you have set clear expectations, hold others accountable for meeting those expectations. If a team member doesn’t hold up their end of the bargain, they should be held accountable for their actions.
Seeking to understand and to be understood is fundamental, but as a leader, you must create a space where everyone feels comfortable communicating, words drive change, and others are held accountable for their choices and behaviors.
Having clear expectations is important, but you must also work on building trust.
2. Build Trust with Your Team Through Communication
As leaders, we must create a space where others feel safe to communicate freely. Cultivating this type of environment is an important step in building trust with your team.
How do you achieve this?
- Act with integrity
- Speak words with credibility
- Motivate others to follow you
- Do what you say you’re going to do
Avoid participating in or permitting others to gossip or to blame, slander, or betray others.
Following the four principles above will not only build a culture of communication but a positive work environment as well.
3. Choose the Proper Communication Level
Leaders who are effective communicators understand that certain situations and settings require particular responses. Choosing the right communication level is key.
There are five levels:
- Cliche: Superficial, surface-level communication used to respectfully acknowledge others. Greetings are the perfect example of cliche communication, which is the safest level because it does not require risk or vulnerability.
- Facts and Reports: Interactions related to circumstances that are external to ourselves. For example: “It’s freezing out there.” At this level, there is no disclosure of anything personal from either party.
- Ideas and Opinions: The expression of our ideas and opinions, which opens the door to our beliefs and insights. Often, we evaluate the person’s response at this level before we move on to the next.
- Feelings and Emotions: Expressions of internal feelings. For example: “I feel disrespected by the way you spoke to me earlier.” As leaders, we must practice balance and discernment at this communication stage. If we go to extremes in avoiding our feelings or being too dependent on them, we risk not being able to manage relationships effectively.
- Peak or Maximum Truth: Completely open and honest communication. We speak with candor and allow ourselves to be vulnerable. For example: “I know we are all disappointed in the loss, but I am proud of you and appreciate your hard work and effort.”
Maximum truth-telling opens the door to:
- The establishment of healthy boundaries
- Respectful confrontation of unacceptable behavior
- Holding others accountable for their actions
- Objectively evaluating someone’s performance
- Providing genuine encouragement and appreciation
- Experiencing emotional intimacy with others
Reaching the level of truth-telling is the ultimate goal because it helps us avoid settling for cheap peace.
4. Don’t Settle for Cheap Peace
What we don’t work through doesn’t go away. We cannot ignore this reality.
If you want to create a culture of communication, don’t settle for cheap peace. Instead, instill a truth-telling mentality in your organization.
Otherwise, you undermine the integrity and trust you’ve worked so hard to build.
Denial, avoidance, or self-deception will not make your organization’s problems disappear. Do not allow conflicts to go unresolved, issues to be left unaddressed, and questions to be unanswered.
Aim to be authentic truth-tellers.
5. Establish Guidelines for Authentic Truth-telling
Establishing clear guidelines can help leaders and team members communicate more effectively.
These guidelines are as follows:
- We must first speak the truth to ourselves before we attempt to speak the truth to others. Speaking the same truth to ourselves first will help us communicate our truth more respectfully.
- We must not lose sight of the value of others when attempting to speak the truth. We recognize their worth, value, contributions, and commitment.
- We must accompany our truth with concrete facts. We use objective facts – not emotions – when speaking our truth.
Following these principles will allow leaders and team members to resolve conflicts, hold others accountable, set boundaries,and even evaluate performances without getting caught up in emotions or delusions.
The Takeaway
Leaders must take responsibility for building a culture of communication, starting with their own behaviors and actions. Clarify your expectations, build trust, choose the proper communication level, and never settle for cheap peace. Finally, make sure you’re establishing guidelines for everyone to follow, including yourself, which will further help clarify your expectations and build a team that truly values communication.
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