I’m a firm believer that 100% of problems in business and in our families are communication based. It could be how we communicate to ourselves with our self-talk or how we communicate with others.
It’s a huge part of life which is why it’s something to constantly strive to improve on. You will be communicating with people until the day you die.
Heck, you might even communicate with them afterward as a ghost.
There’s two major issues usually at play….fuzzy communication or no communication. You cannot operate as a high performing team without high performance communication.
I want to make three VERY important points about team communication.
The first point is HOW to communicate effectively. Here’s a simple checklist of how to communicate effectively.
Things get done when we…
✅ Explain things clearly
✅ Give a deadline
✅ Make it specific so it’s not open for interpretation
✅ Ask if they have any follow up questions
✅ Explain WHO is involved, WHY we are doing it and HOW it should be done
Things DO NOT get done when we….
❌ Explain things vaguely
❌ Give no deadline
❌ Make it open for interpretation
❌ Do not ask if there’s any questions
❌ Focus on WHAT and skip the WHO, WHY and HOW.
This applies to communicating to teammates and it can even apply to working with your customers. It all comes down to the standards of communication that you allow around you.
I work with my team to make sure they are being specific on goals, action steps, etc. so there’s nothing left up to guesswork.
It also applied when I would coach clients on their fat-loss goals. If they said “I need to drink more water.” I would stop them dead in their tracks and say “how much more water?” and “when will you begin drinking that amount?” and “how can I hold you more accountable?”
You must force people to make S.M.A.R.T goals otherwise they will dance around things with their words and actions.
SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound.
The second point is to keep it positive. Not only is it one of our company core values (Create a Positive Culture), it’s just a better way to lead yourself and your teammates.
We would tell a client to stop the negative self-talk to themselves in the mirror, so don’t allow negative talk on the team.
You should be pointing out what people are doing RIGHT twice as much as what they missed. There’s a reason they call it “human error” because we are humans. That isn’t a hall pass to screw up all the time but we need to give teammates grace if it was an honest mistake.
Negativity is found in division. Break that word down….(di) means two and (vision) means where we are going. Division means we have two different visions.
Get everyone aligned by pointing at what they are doing right. Shout it out. Praise it. Lead with the carrot, not with the stick.
My third and final point is about being direct. This does not mean you need to be a jerk. No, I’m simply stating that your problems will never go away until you face them head on.
Whatever you ignore EXPANDS
Whatever you confront DIMINISHES
It’s as simple as that. The more you sweep things under the rug or avoid being honest, the more you hurt yourself and your team. That’s why they say “the truth will set you free.”
We feel AMAZING when we are on a trusting team and surrounded by people we can be open and honest with. We feel TERRIBLE when we bottle things up and don’t speak up.
Hopefully this is a wake up call that the ball is in your court and it’s YOUR CHOICE how you operate. The military grades people based on their skills (performance) and their trust (character) to decide if they are a good fit for Special Operations.
You would never get approval to join those special teams if your trust rating was low from your teammates. That’s because they need to know when the 💩 hits the fan that you will be there for your teammates.
🤔 Can your team trust you?
🤔 Do you trust your team?
🤔 Would you leave your house keys, kids and money with them?
If you answered no to any of those questions then it’s time to have some real honest talks that break down the “fakeness” and share the real struggles and worries in your mind.
I hope this was helpful so you can lead from the front as a better communicator.
Be the POSITIVE change!!