What did I say? 3 Communication Mistakes Leaders Make.

Employees don’t leave organizations. They leave managers. One key mistake that leaders make involves their communication, or the lack thereof, with their employees. Communication is complicated (Hunt, Tourish, & Hargie, 2000). Leaders must communicate on a daily basis with diverse employees (Hunt, Tourish, & Hargie, 2000). Communication is a critical component of leadership success or failure. Leaders must understand weaknesses faced in communication in an effort to avoid these errors. Leaders do not always realize the effect that their communication, or the lack thereof, has on their team members.

Not allowing the employee to express their opinion

Everyone gets that the leader is the person in charge, but It is important that employees have a say. Many times, employees feel that they are not able to contribute ideas to the present state of the business and future initiatives (Hunt, Tourish, & Hargie, 2000). Communication cannot be one-way (Arthur, 2015). Understandably, leaders are busy and have a lot of competing items for their attention. It is important, however, that a leader allow those in their teams to feel comfortable in sharing their thoughts and opinions (Arthur, 2015). Team members need the chance to communicate upwards to express their reactions in matters that directly affect them (Taylor & Armstrong, 2017). Seek the input of those on your teams (Kaye & Jordan-Evans, 2005). You might be surprised with the value they can add.

Poor personal interaction

Personalities can affect communication styles. Managers cannot treat everyone the same way and most alter their communication style as people respond differently (Hunt, Tourish, & Hargie, 2000). It is also important to note that the speed desired in the workplace sometimes forces managers to utilize a speedy approach causing insufficient communication between leaders and employees. Employees are left feeling confused and lacking clarity on the goals of the organization (Hunt, Tourish, & Hargie, 2000). Unprofessional communication can stem from rushing a conversation, inappropriate information in email or letters, and interrupting a person when they are speaking (Arthur, 2015).

Leaders should develop rapport when communicating with team members (Lussier & Hendon, 2019). Put the receivers of the information at ease by connecting to them in your opening conversation (Lussier & Hendon, 2019).Teams want a leader with a can-do, positive attitude (Kouzes & Posner, 2002). A positive attitude and communication style will put your teams at ease.

Improper Dissemination of information

Communication has to be delivered appropriately. Imagine how you would feel if a tough

message were delivered to you through a note or email. If there is a tough message that has to be shared, leaders should do so in person (Nafees, 2018). The most common form of

communication is face to face (Armstrong & Taylor, 2017). Written communication works better when the information is important and needs a more detailed explanation (Armstrong & Taylor, 2017). When necessary, leaders should couple written and face-to-face communication to ensure understanding.

Leaders must also have a focused approach to transmitting communication (Lussier & Hendon, 2019). This is especially important when communicating a difficult message. Be clear on the objective of your communication, transmit the message calmly and respectfully, check for understanding, and follow up to ensure that the goal of the communication was accomplished (Lussier & Herndon, 2019).

Communication has to be clear in order to be effective (Armstrong & Taylor, 2017). Timely, relevant communication is more likely to be easily understood (Taylor & Armstrong, 2017).

Poor communication can lead to lost productivity and turnover (Weisman, 2017). Invest time into becoming a better communicator. In return, you will have a more motivated and engaged team.

References

Armstrong, M. & Taylor, S. (2017). Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management

practice. New York, NY. Kogan Page Limited.

Hunt, O., Tourish, D. and Margie, O. (2000), The communication experiences of education

managers: identifying strengths, weaknesses and critical incidents, The International

Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 120-9.

Kaye, B. & Jordan-Evans, S. (2005). Love ‘em or lose ‘em. getting good people to stay. San

Francisco, CA. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Kouzes, J.M. & Posner, B.Z. (2002). The leadership challenge. San Francisco, CA. Jossey-Bass

Lussier, R.N. & Hendon, J.R. (2019). Human resource management. Canada. Sage Publications.

Nafees, H. (2018). Common mistakes in communication. International Journal of Trend in

Scientific Research and Development, Vol. 2 No. 4, pp. 2197-2200

Smith, A. (2015). Communication mistakes managers make. Article retrieved from

https://thinkplanlaunch.com/blog/communication-mistakes-managers-make/

Weisman, S. (2017). Seven communication mistakes in medical practices: how poor

communication kills positivity, productivity, and profitability. The Journal of Medical

Practice Management. 32 No. 6, pp. 417-420