Communication: Sending Clear and Convincing Messages
“Then you should say what you mean,” the March Hare went on.
“I do,” Alice hastily replied; “at least—at least I mean what I say—that’s the same thing, you know.”
“Not the same thing a bit!” said the Hatter. “You might just as well say that ‘I see what I eat’ is the same thing as ‘I eat what I see’!”
You probably recognize these famous characters from Lewis Carroll’s book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. In this scene, the Mad Hatter tries to instruct Alice about better communication skills. Of course, this lesson is taking place at a crazy tea party where much of the communicating is convoluted at best, driving Alice a bit mad herself!
Yet, wouldn’t it be great if everyone said what they meant and meant what they said? Unfortunately, individuals from all walks of life seem to struggle with sharing accurately, hearing correctly, or understanding entirely. Despite the increase in methods of communication—email, texting, tweeting, and Skype—humans have a hard time “sending clear and convincing messages.”
But the ability to deliver clear, convincing messages is exactly how LEADon® defines the essential EQ (Emotional Quotient) characteristic of Communication. Interestingly, of all twenty-five EQ characteristics, Communication is often the one that leaders feel they need the most assistance with, either for themselves or for their teams. After all, how can you lead effectively without providing information in a convincing manner? Would you call any team “high performing” if they couldn’t communicate clearly?
There’s certainly a lot of communication about Communication in the business world these days too. One Forbes article we found by David Brenner, president of the Latimer Group, revealed that poor communication causes the following in organizations:
- Lack of focus
- Lack of innovation
- Drop in morale
- Loss of credibility
Brenner also explains that a total lack of purpose may be another negative result of problems in the area of Communication: “If a company can’t communicate its vision and purpose, it has effectively lost them” (see more of Brenner’s November 2017 article, “The True Cost of Poor Communication” at www.forbes.com).
Fortunately, Communication, like all EQ characteristics, can be improved upon given time and intentional effort. How do we know? Because LEADon® has assisted leaders and their teams in numerous industries revamp the way they communicate, which in turn resulted in a focused, motivated, mission-oriented Corporate Family®.
Despite how enormous the endeavor to improve a skill like Communication may sound right now, here are some simple steps we’d recommend in order to get this process started:
- Begin by taking the Developing Emotional Competency Questionnaire® (DECQ®). This online assessment will provide detailed results of your strengths and weaknesses in all twenty-five EQ characteristics, including The DECQ® can be taken by individuals, teams, and your entire Corporate Family®. While your individual scores are private and confidential, your team and Corporate Family® scores can be shared so that all of you can work on improving EQ skill sets company-wide. (You can find LEADon’s propriety assessment, the DECQ®, at www.LEADonUniversity.com).
- Leadon University® has over thirty online courses to help develop your leadership skills. For Communication, we suggest you and your team take these two courses:
LEADing by Communicating Effectively®
LEADing by the Power of Perspective and Rhetoric®
- Take time to read Chapter Six, “Developing Your High Performance Team,” in The Leading Edge (Wilke & Wilke, 2010). In this chapter, you will find additional strategies for improving your own individual Communication skills as well as those of your entire Corporate Family®.
If the LEADon® team can assist you in any way, please don’t hesitate to communicate with us. You’ll find additional information about the LEADon® experience at www.LEADonUniversity.com—or call us directly at 858.592.0700.
