Developing Your Communications Skills for Management
13/03/2012 16:53
If you're in a position where you manage other people either in your own business or in your workplace, then the need to be able to communicate effectively is vital. How you communicate with people will ultimately influence the way they think of you and can create negative or positive reactions. Regardless of how comfortable you are communicating with subordinates, your management position requires you to be a good communicator of what needs to be done. If you truly wish to be the best manager you can be, read on for a more complete understanding of the value of communication skills.
Communications skills to big groups of people are often a requirement, because you will need to be able to get across information to groups of executives above you and subordinates below you. The only way to overcome group speaking fears is to get out there and do it frequently. Excellent preparation is the key to success as you go into your communications situations. The better prepared you are to talk to a group of men and women, the easier it'll be. It may be beneficial to also imagine yourself communicating clearly before you engage in group communication.
You need to learn how to communicate with a diverse set of individuals too. You will have times when you have to contend with conflict and this could be because a member of your staff is under performing or they may have a personal grievance themselves. It is up to you to convey that you understand what every person's complaint is. If you're able to take care of situations like this by agreeing a way forward, you will have a much happier member of staff as opposed to trying to impose a solution on them. This normally requires empathy and a degree of skill but if you master this you can get the desired result out of a challenging situation.
Part of communication is focusing on each of the people you manage so as to figure out how to efficiently communicate in a way that will motivate each toward your goals. There will be many different personalities that you will deal with and understanding this is a significant factor in how you can get the best out of every person. Each one-on-one encounter should be seen as an opportunity to increase your understanding of the motivating factors in each individual. After all, your primary job as a manager is to make sure that your subordinates remain on task as they work towards the company targets.
The job of a manager or business owner is a challenging one and the manner in which you speak with others is one of the most important factors in becoming successful. It therefore makes sense to make the effort to develop and grasp your communication skills.