I haven’t had much experience with different employers or managers but I have had enough interaction to realize it is a difficult responsibility. Every manager has their own opinions about how to interact with their employees. Whether their actions, or lack thereof, have positive or negative effects on their employees is a matter of opinion. Unfortunately, most leaders don’t communicate with their employees enough to know how effective their leadership skills really are.
Without proper communication, how do you know if you are getting the best performance possible from your employees? Do they completely understand what is expected of them? Errors and misunderstandings are avoidable. I believe being open to communication and feedback is essential to promoting good relationships between management and employees. Leaders must continually communicate clear directions and instructions for the best productivity.
Great leadership not only comes from good communication. David Javitch, an author for Entrepreneur.com, has listed 10 qualities every leader should possess for the best business success. Read “The Entrepreneur as Leader” to learn how you can improve your skills as a small business manager.
Communication is not the only factor to bring better leadership but it is one of the most important factor. The leader’s effective communication to their subordinates means being clearly understood and therefore, as a leader, you have successfully shared to them your goals which is very important in business and any endeavor.
The linked article has really good advice on being a great leader. Tip #5 makes a good point. I myself have more respect for managers who communicate regularly with employees. A good leader needs to stay in touch with the realities of the employers duties to better understand what their needs are.
I recommend you to check out Toastmasters if you are interested in develop your communication and leadership skills. I have been a member for about a year and I have learned a lot. The meeting format has a nice atmosphere and it is easy to follow the agenda.
I am glad to see that David G. Javitch is pointing out that “the successful leader believes in his/herself.”
I will soon start to read Stephen M. R. Covey’s book, The Speed of Trust.
Hi Martin.
Do you have a link to that Toastmasters? And they are what type of organization?
Communication is so very important in ANY relationship that exists today. But especially so when in a position of leadership. There were a lot of good points included in the article and one very important one is to make yourself available and approachable to employees.