4 Communication Skills Every Manager Should Master
It is a fact that good communication in the workplace is the cornerstone to success. Without it, we cannot set any organizational goals or make plans to achieve them. No one would be able to share their ideas or concerns without strong communication skills. As a manager, your ability to communicate is very important to the team since they regard you as their leader and expect you to guide them to meet objectives and targets. If the leader lacks communication skills then how can you expect the people you supervise to know what you want from them?
Being able to direct others and the ability to provide feedback in a positive and constructive manner is only a tiny part of the communication skills required to become a good manager.
Here are some major communication skills that would serve you well:
Listening skills: This may sound basic to people who are used to hearing rather than listening. An individual who just keeps on giving orders rather than listening to the other person may alienate his staff, and unknowingly he is also putting his job at risk. As the manager, it is likely that his worker may be the one who sees first-hand what the problem is. So instead of constantly giving orders, it would be more effective for him to get feedback directly from his worker, and then act accordingly. Information is extremely valuable since, without it, one cannot provide directions. Therefore, a good manager listens first and talks second.
Positive body language: Have you ever worked under a manager who constantly yawned, shuffled around with his shoulders slumped and you could see the disinterest in him? An unmotivated looking manager will also remove the motivation from his workers. But can you blame the workers for this? Imagine if you get up early and come to work, only to find superiors who could care less about your punctuality. That kind of attitude can demotivate anyone. As a manager, you should have body language that conveys confidence or friendliness, this, in turn, can influence your team to become like you.
Conflict resolution skills: In a team, it is almost expected that there can be some clashes between members. When such a situation arises, you have to be fair and solve the conflict in such a manner that all the parties involved feel satisfied. Once again, listening is crucial here. A good manager listens to both sides of the story and comes up with a solution that is appropriate.
Empathy: There can be bad days and even as a manager, you are still just a human. The people working under you are also human and anyone can have a bad day. As humans we all have our personal lives, sometimes our personal problems can overlap with our professional life. Therefore, it is important for you to create a work environment that treats employees as people rather than machines.
If you feel that you are lacking some of these essential skills, then VitalSmarts has you covered. With many years of experience in corporate training, we have been part of numerous organizations’ success stories. Our top-rated training programs such as Crucial Accountability®, Crucial Conversations®, Influencer®, and The Power of HabitTM are designed to suit today’s market requirements. Reach excellence with VitalSmarts.
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