How Effective Communication Shapes Successful Teams
Imagine a workplace where your teams perform exceptionally. All their delivery targets are achieved flawlessly. Everyone gets along really well. They are highly motivated. They feel proud of themselves, their work, and accomplishments.
While this scenario might almost sound too perfect, it's actually not that far out of reach. Aspiring to create such an environment is not only realistic but achievable, primarily through effective communication.
The Four Types of Communication
First, let’s break down the different types of communication. Generally, there are 4 types:
Verbal Communication: This is a direct and highly effective method to communicate. It includes face-to-face interactions and voice or video calls. This method naturally carries non-verbal cues as well, that can help form opinions and decisions.
Non-Verbal Communication: This indirect method includes facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice. It can greatly influence our subconscious and carries significant weight in how we perceive information.
Written Communication: Whether formal or informal, written communication helps to clarify and focus thoughts. In today's digital age, it also allows for easy storage and retrieval of information.
Visual Communication: Often used to complement other types, visual communication includes slides, graphs, and videos, making complex information more digestible.
Combining these methods effectively can significantly enhance the clarity and impact of your message.
Tailoring Your Communication for Team Success
You've seen how different types of communication can get your message across. Now, let’s see how you can use these to bring the best out of your team.
Achieve Their Goals
A common reason teams often miss their goals is a lack of awareness about what those goals are. This means, an important step towards ensuring your team's success is to clearly define and communicate these strategic goals to them.
When team members have a clear understanding of their objectives and purpose, they are not only more motivated but also significantly more likely to achieve these targets.
To establish clear, measurable, and trackable goals, the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) framework is an excellent tool. For an in-depth understanding of how OKRs work, you can check out my complete guide on OKRs.
Become More Open and Engaged
Encouraging openness and engagement within your teams starts with creating a conducive environment for safe expression. Make it a point to communicate clearly in every team interactions that every session is a safe and welcoming space. Here, every team member is encouraged to freely share their thoughts and ideas.
By establishing this as a norm, you lay the foundation for more open and active participation from everyone. You can lead by example, guiding the discussions yourself, or appoint a facilitator to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to contribute.
This approach not only makes your team members feel more at ease to share their thoughts, but also gives way for more productive conversations. By consistently delivering this message, you'll invite a culture where open and engaging communication is the standard, creating a more collaborative team environment.
Build Trust and Connection
Trust issues in a team is often caused by lack of clarity and unfulfilled commitments. To build and maintain trust within your team, it's important that you consistently be transparent about your commitments and also honour them.
Regular and open discussions with your team, where you collectively identify areas for improvement and agree on concrete actions, are key in this process. Such a collaborative and transparent communication greatly strengthens trust and rapport among your team members.
Over time, fostering this environment of open communication and teamwork will deepen the bond within the team, and will greatly help move the team forward.
Get Motivated
Keep in mind, the most powerful motivation is the one that comes from within. As I discussed in my previous article, the three key pillars of intrinsic motivation are autonomy, mastery, and purpose. To effectively foster this kind of motivation within your team, your communication should resonate with these pillars:
Autonomy: Clearly define the team's goals and give them the freedom to determine their approach to achieve them.
Mastery: Actively support and uplift your team. Provide ample opportunities and resources for learning and development, and don't forget to celebrate their progress and achievements. This approach helps them realise and grow their potential.
Purpose: Continually inspire your team by communicating the meaningful impact of their work. Show them how their efforts contribute to a larger goal, making a real difference.
Increase Work Quality
Many workplace errors comes from miscommunication or false assumptions. To counter this, it's important to communicate clear standards for every piece of work your team does.
Collaborate with your team to establish these standards, ensuring they include the task's purpose, scope, and the anticipated outcomes. Also, make good use of collaboration tools to capture and share all these information with everyone in your team.
Consistently applying and sticking to these well-defined standards not only minimises the need for corrections but also boosts your team's efficiency and morale.
Meet Delivery Targets
Discussing delivery targets with your team can be a tricky conversation. But considering the importance of this discussion, it makes sense to have them regularly, and openly. A good starting point is to be upfront about the target dates and then engage with your team to assess if these targets are achievable. If they are, fantastic! If not, it's time to explore your options together.
This might mean reevaluating and possibly shifting the target dates. In cases where the dates are set in stone, it's important to then discuss what can realistically be accomplished within that timeframe, considering any necessary trade-offs or adjustments.
Another effective strategy is timeboxing, which involves assigning realistic deadlines to tasks based on their complexity. These open and cooperative discussions are key in defining attainable goals and significantly boost the chances of your team meeting those targets.
Key Considerations for Effective Communication
When it comes to effective communication, it's important to consider these key points.
Adapt Your Communication Methods: tailor your communication style to fit the situation at hand. Different contexts require different approaches, so it's crucial to choose the most suitable method for each scenario.
Embrace Cultural Diversity: Recognise that different cultures may have varied communication styles. Being mindful of these differences can enhance interactions.
Play to Individual Strengths: Understand that team members have preferred communication methods. Acknowledge and utilise these preferences to encourage more effective conversations.
Conclusion
Effective communication is a key factor in guiding your team towards success. The approach you take in communicating with your team plays a significant role in shaping their performance and achievements.
By clearly defining your desired outcomes and tailoring your communication strategies to support these goals, you can guide your team towards not only meeting but surpassing their objectives.
This strategic alignment in communication fosters a culture of trust and engagement, boosting your business to new levels of success. Keep in mind, it's the way you communicate, not just the content, that truly makes a difference.
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Looking for ways to boost your team’s performance? We can help.
Talk to us today to find out how we can provide the right approach for you.
Cover Photo: unsplash/@jasonrosewell
