During one of my discussions with my daughter, we realised communication is what strengthens or weakens a relationship and also overall health. As a medicine student she felt that a lot of health hazards including diseases could be a result of lack of communication. While virtual interactions has brought us together, face to face interactions can further enhance the communication process.
Communication is an indispensable element in human world, our expression through words, gestures or even thinking has an overall impact on us and our fellow beings. The term ‘communication’ is derived from the Latin word ‘communis‘, which means common. Therefore, communication is defined as an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions, or emotions to create mutual understanding. It is the sum of all things one person does in order to create understanding in the minds of others. However the fundamentals of communication is to derive the best outcomes in our ecosystem.
Good leadership practices at work place -communities or with families or friendships is rooted in effective communication. Demystifying the process of effective communication is critical for a leader’s scorecard both professionally and personally. Working with authenticity -clarity -transparency and consistency is the biggest aspect of being a leader in any space or time. Case in point the captain of the ship can make or break the lives of many looking upto to him. Right from goal setting -guidance to growth of a person all depends on the communication channels. Transparency is essential, and leaders should strive to keep an open door for employees to approach them with their needs or issues.
As per the research and also the guidelines of GPTW (Great Places to Work) surveys communication is the top aspect to be focused on for business and employee welfare. In fact ‘Communication’ tops the list when organizations ask what qualities make a company a great place to work. Open and timely workplace communication builds transparency and trust that goes both ways, in addition to uniting employees and leadership under the same goals.
Following is a simple 3 step process to communication practice:
- Listening – As leader its critical to practice effective listening whether its in written -spoken or even reading gestures of people. As this allows the leader to understand and decode the input which when wrongly construed can be counter productivity.
- Being Receptive -Being receptive to people you lead is critical as you are as good as your team. Listening is productive only when we are receptive and willing to act on the concerns. Thus voicing is only as effective as is the reception.
- Summarising -Finally summarising with your own perspectives in empathetic tone can go a long way to action the improvement areas.
Finally LRS like CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is a great tool to simplify a communication process and be a Kaizen ninja!! (rapid improvement processes, often is considered to be the “building block” of all lean production methods. Kaizen focuses on eliminating waste, improving productivity, and achieving sustained continual improvement in targeted activities and processes of an organisation)
Is your communication process helping you ? What are the best practices for your communication? Do share your experience as a leader ?
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