Communication - I got this

When I first went from IC to Manager, I always thought my strongest asset would be my communication skills (not to mention my charm factor too). As someone that was from Operations / Project role, where the key skill is communication. I wrongly thought I would nail this.

I didn’t.

I was initially terrible at communication, the communication needed for running projects to compared to leading a team is, slightly different to say the least. And what I found was:

• Nobody really understanding what I was saying

• Bad interpretation of what I was saying

• Tasks being poorly completed

• Unclear team vision / mission

• Managing teams across multiple jurisdictions, different cultures and ways of communicating.

I couldn’t understand how my clear and concise communication wasn’t being picked up with my team. So naturally as a gifted communicator, it was my teams fault. I would get defensive and frustrated on points I had said, but misinterpreted across the team.

Until I realised this was a me problem and not a team problem. After getting feedback from my manager that I should look at how I communicate vs how others should be listening.

The problem with communication

As George Bernard Shaw says, the problem with communication is the illusion it has taken place. As the person giving communication I think we often feel those listening fully understand what we are saying and meaning behind this.

And yet likely 90% (guesstimate) of what we say is misinterpreted and lost in translation. This is something that I saw and experienced when I was leading teams. I then changed my tact and over communicated, which helped, but the real change came from feedback and time. Feedback came through working with the team how best to people like communication.

We are all different and like communication in different ways. Spend time to understand how they like communication, ideally focus on;

• Do they prefer written or verbal

• Style and format?

• Team or individual?

• Written then discuss?

These are some things for you to be thinking about how to communicate well with your team.

Top Tips

If like me, you have been banging your head against a wall and not clear on why your team doesn’t understand what you are saying. Then maybe it’s time to pause and reflect on you.

Here are some tips for improving your communication skills:

1. Practice active listening: active listening is more than just nodding, it’s about being fully engaged in the conversation. Adding thoughts and comments. By actively listening you will be able to understand key points and focus points they need. This will help you when communicating. Want to go in-depth on active listening, check out this article.

2. Encourage open communication: By creating a space for others to share ideas, thoughts and feedback this will help you learn how the team best work and like communication.

3. Clarify: Once you have delivered a point or and update, get your team to paraphrase this back to you. This will help you to understand how this has been interpreted. It will also give you the opportunity to re-confirm or provide additional points if it hasn’t been correct.

4. Get Feedback: In your 1:1 meetings ask your direct reports for feedback on your communication style and how you can improve. Make is open and transparent to help with getting the right feedback.

5. Use multiple channels: Don’t just rely on one form like email and expect everyone to get the message. Make sure you update in person, team meetings, written. Using multiple forms of communication channels will increase the chances of the message being correctly understood but also helping with creating space for questions and follow-ups if needed.

The best way to really improve is through practice, like most things the more you do it the better you will be at it. So maybe use time with friends, family and loved ones to test out your communication approach. Get feedback and adapt.

In today’s ever changing world and with remote and hybrid teams, communication skills are becoming ever more important. Getting the basics right in style and clarity will help you as you start to think about remote teams and cultural differences.

What are some of your tips with improving communication and developing this skill? I would love to know drop me an email or add a comment.

Enjoyed this content? Then you should come and check out my other content.

I am hugely passionate about helping managers, in particular first time manager go from lost to leading. Over the next few months I hope these newsletters will become resources and tools for managers to utilise.

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PPS You are all great managers, keep doing what you doing.

Until next week.