Why Communication Is an Essential Skill for Leaders
As a leader, you want to get things done. (Duh!) Maybe you’re looking to grow your company, make changes to its culture, or push boundaries with a new product. Whatever your goal, communicating well is one of the most important skills in your leadership toolkit. Without good communication, even the most talented teams will fall short.
So why exactly do leaders need effective communication skills? And what can you do to become a more effective communicator?
How to Communicate Better
Before we get into why communication matters, let’s start with some fundamentals and best practices. These are the foundation of the strong communication skills that propel successful leaders.
Know your audience
Here’s the first thing they teach aspiring communicators in any field—know your audience! Who are you communicating with? What kind of things do they need to know? What is their perspective, and how are they likely to receive what you’d like to convey to them?
Are you talking to members of the board, your close-knit internal team, or to your staff as a whole? Depending on who you’re talking to, what counts as “relevant information” is going to vary a lot! The board might want the high level, your own team might want the details, and the staff might want something in between.
No matter who you’re talking to, put some forethought into what and how you’ll communicate with them. Tailor your communication to your audience.
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is a key skill for people in leadership positions—and it will make you a better communicator! Emotional intelligence is about recognizing and understanding your own emotions and those of others. It helps you better manage your own emotions, as well as navigate the emotional landscape of those around you.
Empathy is a big part of emotional intelligence. Tap into your empathetic side and put yourself in the shoes of your audience. What perspectives might they have? What might they think or feel about what you have to say? How can you craft your message so that it’s well-received?
Active listening
Communication is a two-way street, especially for people in leadership roles. If you want your messages to be heard, you’ve got to listen as well. Think about how it feels when you’re trying to talk to someone and they’re clearly not listening. Don’t be that person who’s on their phone or clearly checking their email during a conversation!
Maintain eye contact and listen attentively. Ask relevant questions to show that you’re listening. As appropriate, follow up with actions that prove you took what was said into account as part of your decision making.
No matter who you’re talking with—staff, clients, board members—showing that you’re engaged and attentive will go a long way toward earning the trust that makes communication go smoothly.
Adapting your communication style
Take the time to learn about different communication styles. There are lots of resources on this. You’ll find articles on the “classic” types—passive, aggressive, passive-aggressive, and assertive—but don’t be too limited by these categories. Also consider an assessment, such as DiSC, that can give you insight into your typical communication style to improve your self-awareness.
These tools can help you better understand how you communicate with others and make you a better leader. Use that understanding to be thoughtful in your communication. Keep in mind who you’re communicating with and what their own style might be.
Adapting your communication style goes hand-in-hand with knowing your audience. Adapt how you’re communicating to suit the situation and your audience.
If you’re speaking to a crowd, maybe you want to project confidence, authenticity, or even humility. In a one-on-one scenario, you might make things personal and show your human side. If you’re moderating a conflict, use a diplomatic communication style that emphasizes active listening and even-handedness.
Nonverbal communication
Nonverbal communication is a key piece of the communication puzzle. Your facial expressions, body language, and eye contact are all a part of how you—and your messages—are perceived.
You’re probably already using these nonverbal cues without even really thinking about them. The nonverbal component of communication comes naturally to good communicators. Still, it’s worth paying attention to and practicing—especially if you’ve noticed that your messages don’t always land how you’d like.
Choosing the right communication channels
Choosing the right form of communication is a part of adapting your communication to your audience. Most businesses have more communication channels than they know what to do with. Picking the right one is the key to making sure your message gets through the racket of ping notifications.
The medium of communication informs how your messages are received and understood. Routine, low-urgency things might be best in email. Email is also great for important information that needs a heftier delivery. Something that needs a quick response might be better as a text or Slack message. For a personal touch, consider a phone call, Zoom meeting, or even a good, old-fashioned, in-person meeting. (What a concept!)
Think about what you want your audience to know, and what channels might be best for sharing that information.
Why Communication Matters
So we’ve got some of the basics down. Now, what are you going to do with your newfound skills?
Developing effective leadership communication skills is about more than just conveying information. It's about those intangible things that are the mark of great leaders: connecting, inspiring, and aligning towards a common goal. Whether you're leading a small team or an entire organization, clear communication is a necessity.
Chances to apply your good communication skills are going to come up over and over and over. Let’s take a look at some of the most important examples.
Conveying your vision
Every good leader needs a vision. Where is the company going? What are your organizational goals? How are we going to get there?
Communication is the bridge that connects your vision to reality and turns strategy into action.
The where and the what are straightforward enough to communicate. “We want to expand into a new market.” “We want to develop a new product.” “We want to grow by a certain percentage.”
The how might be a little more involved, but it should follow naturally from the where and what. “We’ll hire new staff with experience in our target market.” “We’ll devote more resources to research and development.” “We’ll focus our efforts on recruiting top talent to drive growth.”
But the why really brings this home. Use it to connect your audience (in this case, your staff) to your goals. Why does it matter to them? How do they fit into the bigger picture? How do the company’s goals make my life better, or improve the world around us? Give people a good reason to care about your vision.
Great communicators position their vision in the context of these motivating questions to inspire their teams. When you can answer their whys, you create buy-in—which is the key to making your vision a reality.
Creating trust, building relationships, and guiding culture
The things you’re saying and doing when you communicate are (obviously!) hugely important. You’re inspiring with your vision, conveying your core values, celebrating achievements, and contextualizing (and moving past) missteps.
But there’s more to communication than what you’re saying or doing. How you communicate defines your communication style. Your tone of voice, your posture, and your attentiveness send a message, too. This is a critical piece of your overall leadership style—and it shapes the culture of your organization in powerful ways.
Take a minute and think about your communication style. What kinds of messages are you implicitly sending? Are you treating communication as a top-down, one-way street? Or are you listening as much (or more!) than you speak? Are you encouraging open and honest dialogue? Does your communication style foster a collaborative, trusting culture?
Leadership is not a solo journey—it's a team effort. Engage your team with open-ended questions to invite a diversity of perspectives. Practice active listening to show them that you’re genuinely interested.
These simple things will create an environment where team members feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and concerns. You’ll build employee engagement based on trust and strong relationships. You’ll encourage collaboration and create a positive working environment and company culture. You’ll unlock the kind of innovation that your leadership peers dream about.
Be thoughtful about how you communicate. Make your team feel trusted, and they’ll trust you, too.
Navigating organizational change
Every organization goes through change. Whether you’re growing, merging, shrinking, changing up your leadership team, or going public, your business is going to change over time.
Change can be scary! During times of organizational change, your team needs guidance, reassurance, and a clear vision. Open dialogue, transparency, and empathetic communication will go a long way toward helping everyone get through the uncertainty and anxiety that change causes, and come out the other side even stronger.
Giving constructive feedback
Giving feedback is an art. Constructive feedback, delivered with tact and empathy, helps your team members grow. It's not just about pointing out areas of improvement but also recognizing and celebrating achievements.
The best leaders make feedback a habit. Don’t limit it to once-a-year performance reviews. Use it as a chance to foster a supportive culture that encourages continuous learning.
Communication across different cultures
Today’s globalized business world will bring you into contact with all sorts of people whose experiences, backgrounds, and cultural context might differ from yours. This landscape presents amazing opportunities for collaboration and connection—as well as potential challenges for unprepared communicators.
Use those fundamental skills we discussed to connect with other people with empathy and respect. If you’ve made a habit of inviting different perspectives from your team, you’ll be all the more prepared for bridging potential cultural gaps with your excellent communication skills.
Conflict Resolution
Conflict is inevitable. As a leader, there will be times you need to step in and figure out what’s going on and what to do about it.
Active listening is your first step here. Use your soft skills. Listen closely to gather information from both sides of the conflict. Look for win-win scenarios, but don’t be afraid to make an executive decision, either. Whatever you decide, communicate clearly and honestly.
Conclusion
These tips are just the tip (ha!) of the iceberg when it comes to the importance of communication.
Becoming a skilled communicator isn’t a journey you need to undertake on your own. Consider working with a leadership coach (like me!) to identify and develop your own communication skills.
I’ll leave you with a quote from one of my personal favorite leaders from history: Abraham Lincoln.
"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”
About The Author
Emily Sander is an ICF-certified leadership coach with more than 15 years of experience in the business world and the author of Hacking Executive Leadership. She’s been featured in several print publications, online articles, and podcasts, including CEO Today Magazine, Leading to Fulfillment, and Leadership Powered by Common Sense.
Emily has a passion for helping business leaders reach their full potential. Go here to read her story from seasoned executive to knowledgeable coach. If you want to send Emily a quick message, then visit her contact page here.