One outstanding quality of a great leader is excellent communication skills. But what exactly makes a great communicator?
Using an excited tone of voice? Being able to use your body language with your words? Adding just the right amount of humor? Having a strong voice? Maintaining eye contact? Brilliant stories? An abundant vocabulary?
Most definitely, all these skills are very valuable and should be perfected daily. But none of these amount up to the single most important part of communication in a leadership situation:
Listening!
Why does leadership mean listening?
A leader must listen closely to the world around him or her to be able to react to it.
Business leaders all over the nation are asked about communication and one theme comes up repeatedly – great leaders are great listeners. Extraordinary men and women apply feedback, listen to opinions, and act on that intelligence.
Genuine listening generates respect, understanding and trust between talker and listener. Great listening skills are an important resource, educate, build business, innovate and motivate. In particular, employees like, and respond better to, supervisors who they think are listening to them.
Pat Croce, a nationally renowned motivational speaker explains in his book Lead or Get off the Pot, the Seven Secrets of a Self-Made Leader pg. 120-121, “The best listeners are those who learn to listen with a leader’s eye. This supernatural-sounding skill doesn’t call for magic spells, but when it’s practiced and consistently applied, it does lead to magical results.”
Listening skills have always been important in the workplace. View the possibilities. Observe the body language behind the words and identify the emotions. Listen with an eye toward making a connection. And keep all lines of communication open to all things. If you keep the big picture in mind, you will listen with a leader’s eye.
“The art of communication is the language of leadership.”
-James Humes
Communication is a leader’s most powerful tool. You could possess all the knowledge and experience possible in your field, but without impeccable communication skills, you’ll have trouble leading effectively.
In fact, when senior executives and CEOs all around the country are asked to list the most important skills a leader must possess, the answer consistently includes good communication skills.
Powerful communication is the work of great leaders. These skills create and support the understanding and trust that’s necessary to encourage others to follow. A manager accomplishes very little if he or she is having trouble communicating with the team.
An example of a well-known executive leader who exudes the power of excellent communication is Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz. This is a man who knows not only what he stands for, but also is able to communicate those values in an effective way that leads to significant results. He knows how to make an emotional connection with his listeners, and that connection creates an incentive for them to follow.
The three communication qualities that help Schultz stand out as a top-notch persuasive business communicator are:
- Emotional connection: As I mentioned above, Schultz excels at tapping into people’s emotions as well as their minds to get the most out of them. Everyone can relate to stories. The ability to use stories to get people to see your vision is a powerful leadership quality.
- Passion: Schultz is great at identifying his own passions and expressing that message to employees and colleagues. When you are passionate, you naturally are excited, energetic and enthusiastic. These are qualities people like to see in others – and if people like you, they are more likely to do business with you.
- Inspiration: Schultz provides inspiration to employees and colleagues by painting a picture of a world that is made better by his company’s service. Inspiration creates a connection that people remember.
Sounds pretty simple, right? Each of these qualities can be used in your own workplace.
It all starts by stopping to ask yourself: how effective is my communication?
Powerful communication skills are often something we take for granted. In your next real estate transaction, consider that it does not matter what you know about anything if you cannot communicate with people. Leaders need to be sensitive to how and what they communicate to others with their actions and words.
How you communicate the message often is more important than information itself. Learn to communicate better and you’ll find yourself leading more effectively.
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