We’ve heard it over and over, seminars and books talking about teamwork and business communication skills, but just like many other business strategies it’s easier said than done. Getting a group of people working together towards a common goal is hard, but not impossible.
Just the same, it is essential to review and be reminded of some basic business communication skills that remain to be very effective despite the changes in today’s work force.
Below is a quick review:
Learn to listen
Communication is always two-way. You can’t keep talking for hours and expect people to listen to just listen to you- give your employees a chance to have their say.
Delegate efficiently
Many teams know the value of delegating work properly, but what they don’t realize is much of a team’s success is a result of being able to delegate work efficiently among its members. Delegating tasks will improve your business communication skills because it will require you to explain certain processes, relay information, and targets to the person that will be handling said task. In the same manner, this will also improve the employee’s business communication skills, because he will have to report the progress of his tasks to you and his peers.
Manage conflict properly
No team can function with conflict getting in the way of performance. As the leader, you must be able to facilitate healthy open-discussions and help team members agree to disagree on certain parts of their work.
Be transparent
A team who can’t manage to keep everyone in-sync of each member’s tasks and progress won’t be able to accomplish anything of real value. They might be able to finish their work, but it won’t be their “best” work.
Respect each other
To be able to function as unit, team members must have a high level of respect for each other. Business communication skills isn’t just about talking and listening, because unspoken words and feelings greatly affect the work dynamic of a team. Different people will have different views, opinions, and actions and you need to be able to look beyond these and work respectfully with each one.
Complement each other’s strength
The very essence of team is togetherness. No team can function as it is supposed to without staying united from start to end. Practicing business communication skills will keep a team working like a well-oiled machine despite differences in competencies, views, and opinions. Learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses by openly talking about it; discuss how you can strengthen each other and work side by side towards a single goal.
Has your team been performing up to scratch lately? If not, pay attention to how they talk to each other. Are they openly discussing work and their ideas, or are their talks short and monosyllabic? Most business problems can be solved if you apply the business communication skills mentioned above, so if your team isn’t communicating well, then you had better do something to change this.
© 2013 Incedo Group, LLC
