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8 Essential Leadership Communication Skills

If you want to be an effective Leader, you need to excel in communication. A leader is someone who inspires positive, incremental change by empowering those around them to work toward common objectives. A leader’s most powerful tool for doing so is communication. Effective communication is vital to gain trust, align efforts in the pursuit of goals, and inspire positive change. When communication is lacking, important information can be misinterpreted, causing relationships to suffer and, ultimately, creating barriers that hinder progress. According to a report from the Economist Intelligence Unit (pdf), poor communication can lead to low morale, missed performance Business goals.

If you’re interested in enhancing your leadership capabilities, here are eight communication skills you need to be more effective in your role.

·       Ability to Adapt Your Communication 

·       Active Listening

·       Transparency

·       Clarity

·       Ability to Ask Open-Ended Questions

·       Empathy

·       Open Body Language

·       Receiving and Implementing Feedback

 

 

 

7 Ways To Empower Your Employees

Knowing how to motivate and empower employees is vital for leaders of all levels. Research shows employee empowerment not only leads to higher job satisfaction, but improved work performance and a greater commitment to the organization. Whether you’re a seasoned or aspiring leader, there are several benefits to understanding how you can enable your colleagues to reach their full potential. Trust is an essential component of any successful organization. According to research by consulting firm Great Place to Work (pdf)
Here are seven ways you can empower your employees and cultivate a winning team

·       Build a Culture of Trust

·       Deliver Honest Feedback

·       Show Empathy

·       Foster Open Communication

·       Be Purpose-Driven

·       Delegate Responsibilities and Tasks

·       Support Growth Opportunities

 

 

Why Is Strategic Planning Important?

Strategic planning is the ongoing organizational process of using available knowledge to document a business’s intended direction. This process is used to prioritize efforts, effectively allocate resources, align shareholders and employees on the organization’s goals, and ensure those goals are backed by data and sound reasoning. It’s important to highlight that strategic planning is an ongoing process—not a one-time meeting. In the online course  disruptive Strategy Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen notes that in a study of HBS graduates who started businesses, 93 percent of those with successful strategies evolved and pivoted away from their original strategic plans.

“Most people think of strategy as an event, but that’s not the way the world works,” Christensen says. “When we run into unanticipated opportunities and threats, we have to respond. Sometimes we respond successfully; sometimes we don’t. But most strategies develop through this process. More often than not, the strategy that leads to success emerges through a process that’s at work 24/7 in almost every industry.” Strategic planning requires time, effort, and continual reassessment. Given the proper attention, it can set your business on the right track.