Maximise Your Impact With Leadership Communication Training

Maximise Your Impact With Leadership Communication Training

What do you call a great leader without great communication skills? Well, you wouldn’t call them ‘great’ at all. You wouldn’t even call them ‘okay’.

Effective leadership communication skills are not as common as they should be. In fact, 69% of managers don’t feel comfortable communicating with their employees in general (HBR). That has to change!

But communication is not a simple skill. It’s not like learning to ride a bike; communication skills should be evolved over an entire lifetime. Leadership communication training is the best way to get a head start.

Understanding Leadership Communication

What is Leadership Communication?

Effective leadership communication is one of the most important tools in the leadership utility belt. It’s like the swiss army knife of leadership skills. It’s essential in order to gain people’s trust, align efforts in pursuit of goals, and inspire positive change in people and culture. 

The Importance of Effective Communication in Leadership

Unmistakable red flags that you need work on improving leadership communication: Are leaders the only ones who have bought into the company vision? Does important information get misinterpreted? Do people not feel safe opening up to each other? Have relationships fallen apart? Do small hurdles quickly turn into impenetrable fortress-like walls and block progress at every turn?

Leaders who spend more time managing than interacting with employees on a personal level are 32% less engaged and 2X more likely to leave within 12 months (DDI). But 72% of business leaders believe that effective communication has increased their team’s productivity, and 63% report increased customer satisfaction (Grammarly & The Harris Poll).

Communication isn’t just receiving and passing on information – effective leadership communication is about translating that information for a variety of people, in ways that are understood, resonate, motivate and light a fire in their hearts. Effective leadership communication involves adapting to meet individual needs and build meaningful human connections.

The Role of Leadership in Shaping Corporate Culture

Leadership Styles and Their Impact

Always maintain the 80% listening and 20% talking balance. But when you aren't talking, are you actually, really listening? Don't just say you care and respect employees. Show it! Ask for employees' feedback, opinions, and ideas before offering your own. 

Leadership communication training coaches leaders to ask impactful questions that open doors to how people really think and feel. It teaches them how to encourage self-expression, stay present, and foster psychological safety and empathy. 

Improving leadership communication ensures all employees - the ones who've been with you for years, and new recruits who might be shy about voicing concerns - feel valued, and safe in speaking up and in bringing their authentic selves to work. 

Articulating Vision and Goals with Crystal Clear Clarity 

How can employees be aligned with organizational goals if they don’t understand them? Confusion quickly leads to mistakes in the hustle and bustle of the day to day.

Leadership communication training teaches leaders how to provide clarity, direction and support to teams; how to communicate what these goals are, why they’ve been set, how to reach them, and what’s needed for each milestone. Those ‘a-ha! moments are game-changing.

Handling Difficult Conversations and Feedback

They’re inevitable. But they’re not the end of the world. At least, not when they’re handled effectively.

Whether it’s with a boss, an employee, or a peer, leadership training helps leaders understand how to approach difficult conversations from a neutral perspective, and solve problems together, to meet each other’s concerns.

Through DX Learning’s The Feedback Shift, leaders learn how to make teams feel more respected. Creating a culture of open and honest, two-way feedback shows that leaders value employees’ perspectives and are serious about improving leadership communication.

Non-Verbal Communication: The Unspoken Influence 

Leadership training emphasizes that injecting positive body language can go a long way in helping team members to feel safer and more comfortable opening up to you. Simple gestures like eye contact, nodding, and smiling show that you’re paying attention. They tell our brains that this person cares.

Dealing with your Biases: Curse of Knowledge, Illusion of Agreement and Action Bias. 

The three key biases that leadership communication training should address?

1. The curse of knowledge: the tendency to overestimate what others know, leading to poor communication and misunderstandings.
2. The illusion of agreement: can create a false sense of consensus when people merely appear to agree but don't truly understand or support a decision.
3. Action bias: It might seem like a positive trait, but it can lead to hasty decisions without sufficient analysis.
   

Benefits of Investing in Leadership Communication Training

Enhancing Team Collaboration and Trust

For over 40% of workers, poor communication reduces trust both in leadership and in their team (Forbes).

Leadership communication training inspires open dialogue throughout the company. When leaders are open and honest about what is going on, positive or negative, employees will be far more likely to trust them – and more likely to adopt those communication skills themselves. With effective leadership communication strategies in place, employees will feel more confident in sharing ideas, collaborating, and supporting each other in reaching solutions. 

Driving Organisational Change Successfully 

Change is a lot scarier when you feel like you’re walking blindfolded across uncharted territory. Leaders might have all the information up top, but further down, people might be feeling lost or confused.

With leadership communication training, leaders can be the guide, the storyteller, and the motivator that leads teams through change. No more resistance or confusion; they can break down barriers, build bridges, and develop people, to inspire a shared vision and foster a sense of purpose.

Elevating Employee Engagement and Morale

Leadership communication training is every leader’s golden ticket to unlocking higher levels of employee engagement and motivating team members into giving their 100%.

Connecting on a deeper level with employees encourages them to buy into the company vision. They’ll channel their energy into bringing it to life with a bang. When leaders create a more positive environment, it turns the workplace into a stage for star performers.

Avoiding Duplications, Re-Work and the Stress of Not Getting a Task Right on the First Go:

Without effective leadership communication strategies, team members may be biting their nails the whole time they’re working, hoping they’ve understood what the leader meant or wanted. Misunderstandings and misinterpretations can lead to duplications or correcting mistakes.

Not only is it a waste of valuable time, but it’s demoralizing for the team member who worked hard. Resentment will bubble away under the surface, and it might not end in an explosion. Your talent will just leave for greener pastures.

Leadership communication training ensures no more ‘lost in translation’ moments, and saves time, resources and sanity. More high-fives, less head-scratching and hair-pulling.