Communication Errors

We all probably can relate to each of the following errors in communication that leaders make.

1. Think and communicate only the message your need to share. The better way to insure the message is hitting home is to communicate “what does it mean to me.” If you, as the leader, can not communicate the meaning. Can you imagine what the troops will think of? Help everyone understand the true information and meaning of the message.

2. Withholding information. In today’s politically correct world, sometimes leaders try to soften or leave out some information from the message. The very first time that I heard a layoff message from a company, they shared that we are going through tough times and need to reduce our overall headcount. Problem was the very next day, the company reported their highest earnings to date. The real message was we are moving in a different direction and our current skillset of some employees did not match that direction. We were stopping the businesses that were losing money. Tell the truth!

3. Do all the talking. Being a good listener is key to being a great communicator. I always had a stop watch with me. When I was in a meeting, I would use the stop watch to record the amount of time I was talking. After each meeting, I would look at those times to insure that I was NOT the biggest talker in the meeting. We all learn move from listening than talking.

4. Being defensive with your folks.  If you have hired great people and have a team that is good, they will challenge you from time to time. That is their nature. When you are delivering a message, sometimes a difficult question will happen. Make sure to not get defensive. Take a breathe, think about your answer and make sure to communicate that answer in a trustworthy and even tone. How you react, will set the stage for how you team reacts.

I have be guilty of each and everyone of those from time to time. When I know that I am going to communicating a difficult or big change message – I make sure to play and replay the message over and over to insure that I don’t make an error. Sometimes you only get one time to deliver that message – making it right the first time will save you a lot of headaches and time later on.

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