Improve Your Communication with Leaders

October 22, 2018

How well do you communicate to the leaders in your life?

Most of us reading this post find ourselves in the middle. We both lead people, and we follow other leaders. Interestingly enough, we probably have a preference of how and what the people we lead communicate with us. The question for us becomes when we consider the way want communication from the people we lead, do offer that same consideration to the people that lead us?

For example, you may lead a person who sees problems over opportunities. Would the person that leads you say the same thing about you?

I remember meeting a pastor while I attended seminary. We had lunch, and I took the opportunity to share all my ideas about the church. The student who had just shown up studying to become a pastor dumped a truckload of feedback. If the roles were reversed, I would have struggled to hear that feedback.

It matters how we communicate to the leaders we lead and the leaders that lead us. It starts with us realizing how we would like to receive communication and then doing the same for others.

As you consider how you communicate with the leaders in your life, here are a few recommendations for you today:

1. Start with the Positive.

Share the wins. Thank people. It may not come naturally, but acknowledge when things go right. Positivity also applies to ideas. Instead of immediately rejecting the idea, start with affirming a desire for improvement. Positivity builds a bridge in relationships.

2. Ask questions.

It sounds simple, but many of us like to share our opinions or feedback. Asking questions provides us the space to understand. It invites the people we lead or the people who lead us to give their perspective. Often, in the answers to the questions, we might find more common ground than we think.

3. Clarity and Conciseness.

If you can say it two sentences, don’t use five.

4. Good – Better – Best / Provide Options.

My mentor Mike has encouraged me to communicate options by using the good – better – best framework. For many of us, we come to the table with one solution. Often, coming to the table with one solution creates a debate. Options allow for dialogue.

The good – better – best framework offers three solutions to a problem. When you communicate this, each solution improves on the other until you get to the best. That takes into consideration the facts and your point of view. The options allow gain context rather than stating your case.

5. “What’s Celebrated is Repeated.” (Andy Stanley)

What do you repeat to the people that you lead? What do the leaders who lead you repeat? Identify those things. If a leader says something over and over, it must have significance. Take time to celebrate it. Make it your priority.

What recommendations would you have about communicating with leaders? Share them in the comment section below.

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