Good communication in the workplace is vital for strengthening rapport, building trust as well as establishing a more productive and motivating environment. Whereas a lack of communication can cause confusion, problems, and mistakes. If you find that communication issues are potentially causing difficulties for you and your team, or you think there is room for improvement then keep reading for our top tips.
Learn how your team communicates
Everyone communicates differently, so it is important that you understand how each individual in the team communicates so you can manage them in the best way that suits them. There are four types of communication styles in the workplace:
Analytical – these individuals like accurate numbers and specific facts, use logic and data to make decisions, are not emotional, do not like to improvise, prefer instructions, and want opportunities to resolve problems using processes.
Expressive – these individuals enjoy social interaction, think of the ‘bigger picture, have ambitious goals, focus on the future, like to input their vision for a project and prefer to focus on one or two projects at a time.
Direct – these individuals prefer you to get to the point, don’t like small talk, want you to talk openly not passively with them about issues, don’t like the use of words such as ‘maybe’ when talking to them and want clear timelines.
Collaborative – these individuals focus on others, don’t make a decision until everyone has voiced their opinion, choose a solution that works for everyone, prefer to work on projects with multiple people, like to give their own views rather than being told what to do and need firm deadlines to allow them enough time to be collaborative.
There are many quizzes that you can offer your team to do to figure out their communication style or simply just ask them their communication preferences and cater for those needs to get the most effective outcomes.
Schedule weekly team meetings
The less your team talks together, the less they will work effectively together. Allow weekly team meetings to be a time for:
discussions about current or future projects
an opportunity to ask for feedback
sharing company news, updates, stats and feedback
recognising and rewarding great work to help motivate your team
These ideas can be a good way to get everyone communicating and even allow those who prefer not to talk in a group to feel more comfortable. Ensure to make these meetings something that your team looks forward to every week.
Don’t forget about 1-2-1 meetings
This is a good way to get to know your team on a more personal level, build trust with them and develop compassion as well as empathy. They can also be beneficial for individuals who do not like speaking up in group meetings or talking to you directly, whether it is about feedback, how they feel, what they need etc. This can be a good time to make sure everyone in your team is doing well, provide them with motivational praise as well as give clear and constructive feedback. Ensure to actively listen during these 1-2-1s to completely understand their point of view and what they are asking for as well as effectively acting on it.
Implementing all these strategies will not only improve the communication between you and your team but also increase productivity, motivation and even reduce stress levels by creating a more supportive environment.
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