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This seems like an appropriate issue to deal with in the first issue of Melcrum's monthly newsletter on leadership communication (as a subscriber to The Source for Communicators, you've been sent this first issue as a taster, but you can subscribe now for the next issue).
In my experience, the usual response to this question is: “I don’t have time to communicate.”
That’s one of the most common phrases I hear from leaders. But the reality is that everything you do communicates – whether you want it to or not: how you spend your time, who you interact with, the employees you recognize and reward, and so on. You can’t not communicate.
Employees may join an organization because of its charismatic leaders, benefits or top-notch training, but how long they stay and how productive they are is directly related to their leader.
For me, the question is: how do you make the most of your communications and become what I call a leadercommunicator™?
Too often communication is viewed as a “to do” that we cross off a list, or is viewed tactically – as a skill to be developed, similar to becoming a better listener or presenter.
Becoming a leadercommunicator is a learned skill, and one that traditionally hasn’t been emphasized in organizations today.
The dawn of a new leader
We’re entering the dawn of the leadercommunicator. How do you size up to this definition?
In the end, it’s all about trust and morale, and ultimately, engagement, retention, and business results. Who doesn’t have time for that?
So, here's my definition of a leadercommunicator and in future issues I'll help you think about how you can develop these people in your own organization:
- A leader who understands that communication is an enabler of strategy, and a strategy in itself.
- A leader who understands employees’ strategic communication needs and “The Eight Key Questions” all employees have, but may not always ask.
- A leader who knows that communication at its finest moves people to action and drives performance, which requires planning.
- A leader who realizes the critical need to ensure actions follow words, and knows people search for meaning in his or her actions, and behaves accordingly.
- A leader who realizes that most problems in business today lie in the absence of real communication; who facilitates dialogue and “manages conversations” to create shared meaning.
Subscribe now for regular tips and advice on how to tackle this all-important issue.
David Grossman, APR, ABC
President and principle thoughtpartner™, dg&a
leadership@melcrum.com
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Spies start social networking |
| The Melcrum Blog – 23 August 2007 | |
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Companies can grow, but executives aren't ready |
| The Hub – 22 August 2007 | |
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Ideas on how to increase readership on the intranet |
| The Communicators' Network – 23 August 2007 |
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