Management Style - Do You Communicate with Your Staff?

By: Yvonne Bleakley

On a scale of 1-10, how well do you communicate with your team Do you talk to them in a directive way, ie. do you tell them what to do, or do you talk to them in a motivational way, by asking them what they think they should do? A Silent Motivator gets people to think for themselves. Don't mis-understand me, there is place for a directive style. If the building was on fire, you really don't want to be hanging around asking what the rest of the staff thinks you should be doing! If you need something done in a particular way and you have an urgent deadline to meet then you need to get this across, but there are ways to ask and get them onside making sure they understand what needs doing and why.

Let us get away from the term manager and start thinking of ourselves as leaders. The top leaders know that they don't have to do everything themselves, they just know that everything has to get done! Your whole role is about getting things done through others and for that you need great communication skills. You need to communicate your requirements in a motivating and empowering way.

Ask yourself:-

How can I improve the skills of my staff?
How do I know what they need to improve?
Have I ever asked them what they need, to do a better job?
What can I do to be more in touch with my team?

Question: What is the Secret to becoming an expert communicator?

Answer: Become an expert listener!

Become an expert listener and you will become an expert motivator.

The Silent Motivator Assignment

Grab a piece of paper and answer these questions to see how and where you can enhance your communication skills.

- Can you make small talk easily?
- How comfortable do you feel when meeting people for the first time?
- Can you a hold a conversation?
- If you had to speak in front of 50 people with 24 hours notice would you feel okay about it?
- Can you express your opinion in an objective manner without getting angry?
- Can you hold motivating conversations? Do you find this easy?
- How well can you communicate bad news?
- How well do you manage conflict in the office?
- Can you communicate effectively with people at all levels?

Have a look at your answers and see if there are any patterns that emerge. For example, you might be great at dealing with conflict and giving tough messages out but when it comes to motivating people you just don't know how to do this. Or, you might feel comfortable when speaking in front of groups but havn't got a clue how to make small talk with just one person. Have a think about these and jot down some ideas of what you can do to improve your skills in each area.

Once you have some ideas of what you need to do to improve you communication skills, commit to yourself to take some specific action! Put together a plan and make commitments in your diary to follow through with this. Write yourself a goal so that you have some definite measurable objectives and rate yourself regularly to see how close you are to achieving it.

Reprinted from: Communication Skills Articles.

Yvonne Bleakley is the director of Coach Uk Ltd and creator of The Silent Motivator System and Change your Life Forever System. Yvonne works with business owners and managers showing them an effective way to motivate and communicate with their staff and colleagues. The Silent Motivator System is a 10 step system designed to turn managers and business owners into effective leaders, producing happy passionate staff who are able to think for themselves. To receive a monthly subscription to the mo

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