Leadership and Management – The benefits of effective communication

One of the key elements of being a good manager and managing a successful team is communication and ensuring that your messages are conveyed in the most effective manner to the correct stakeholders is vital to this. It is impossible to turn your ideas and strategy into action if you have poor communication skills and this is prevalent across all areas of the management spectrum.

At some point in their careers, everybody has worked for, or with a bad manager and this tends to stem from them not having the ability to communicate effectively, meaning key messages get lost and members of the team start to feel seriously undervalued and out of the loop.

At 3aaa Apprenticeships, we offer a Leadership & Management training suite in partnership with CMI, in the form of the Level 3 Team Leader and the Level 5 Operations Manager programmes. Both of these programmes truly embed communication skills within every module and element, endorsing just how important communication is within the management world.

Two vital characteristics of a successful manager and colleague relationship are trust and transparency and these two things can be created and sustained by strong, effective communication. Many managers will have a plethora of ideas and a strong vision and strategy for their teams and organisation but if they cannot communicate these effectively and ‘roll-out’ to their teams, then it is likely to get lost in translation and not implemented as it was meant. Strong communication skills can turn a manager into a leader.

A recent blog post by CMI discusses the management development of Snapchat CEO, Evan Spiegel, after an anonymous survey and the loss of millions of users caused him to look into his management style and make urgent changes for the good of his organisation.

Spiegel conducted an anonymous survey with his employees, asking how he could adapt and improve his leadership style. One of the most common responses was that he needed to stop being so secretive and communicate his strategy and objectives more clearly to the wider team. This simple lack of communication could’ve avoided the plummet in Snapchat’s users and completely changed the recent fortunes of the organisation. You can read the article in full here.

Below are our top 5 tips for effective communication for managers:

1. Knowledge – know what you are talking about – communication with your team will carry more weight if what you are saying is valuable and correct. Colleagues are more likely to soak up key information if they have a confidence in the information and direction that they are being given.
2. Listen and acknowledge – one of the most important communication skills is having the ability to listen and acknowledge advice and information from your wider team. As well as giving you a vital insight into your teams’ expert opinions, it will also encourage them to put your plans into action if they feel valued and that they are being listened to.
3. Understand your team – people take in information in different ways and understanding your teams’ personalities and what makes them tick is another important part of communicating with them.
4. Be clear and confident – when communicating with your team in person, by e-mail or on the phone, ensure that you speak clearly and with confidence. Colleagues will look to you as a leader and it is important that they understand your communication and believe in what you are trying to achieve.
5. Build trust and transparency within your team – the most effective way to build a high-performing and happy team is to build trust and transparency within it. Create a culture where everyone feels like they can have a voice and all members feel part of what the team is trying to achieve.

In summary, it is vital that all managers instil an open, ‘best practice’ culture within their teams, giving their colleagues the platforms to showcase their skillset. Never underestimate the importance of communication to the success of your team and the wider organisation.