Here are competencies you need to master

How good are your manager communication skills?

OK. You’ve convinced yourself that you need to “step up” communications with your employees. You’re confident that you have all the skills you need to accomplish the task. Or do you?

A survey conducted several years ago among U.S. managers revealed that three-quarters of the participants had a high opinion of their communication skills. But when the direct reports of those managers were asked about the communication prowess of their bosses, only one-third said their manager was a good communicator.

Skill model chart: what it means

Up front, it’s important that you be realistic about the effectiveness of your communication skills. Managerial communication, like other disciplines, requires mastery of certain competencies to do it well. Like you do for development of technical or and other managerial skills, you need to honestly assess your communication skills and build a plan for self-improvement.

The chart below on this page can serve as a roadmap for you as you strive to develop your communication skills. The chart displays important competencies and related behaviors of effective managerial communicators. Skill set requirements are organized into two categories: Visioning, Expectation Setting and Information Sharing; and, Creating Open, Two-Way Communications.

COMPETENCY CATEGORY #1: Visioning, expectation setting, and information sharing

It’s vital that you provide clear direction for your team members. Your employees need to understand your strategy for the organizational unit you manage, how your strategy links to broader enterprise-wide goals and why meeting those goals is a priority (meeting competitive pressures, satisfying customer demands, etc.), and what is expected of them in fulfilling your vision and goals.

Frequently, this is where organizational effectiveness breaks down, because employees aren’t focused on the right things and don’t see the connection between what they do in their job and achieving overall business goals. To ensure alignment and focus, clearly communicate priorities and set performance expectations. As a manager, you need to invest the time to learn business strategy and how the organization functions, focuses and interrelates, so you are positioned to pass along insights to your employees about how to support business values and operate effectively within the organization.

You also need to take your learning and sharing one step further. During the course of the year, you reinforce business needs and priorities by keeping your employees well informed about business developments and progress being made toward achievement of goals.

COMPETENCY CATEGORY #2: Creating, open two-way communications

Performance thrives in work environments where managers and supervisors foster a climate that encourages employees to collaborate, express ideas and concerns, and share information among each other.

Your role, through words and deeds, is to create and nurture an open communications climate. You accomplish this through frequent contact with your employees in one-to-one conversation and in team meetings. You demonstrate your sincere interest in what they have to say by practicing effective active listening skills. You encourage, guide and develop employees by “coaching them up.” You promote teamwork and relationship-building within the team and across the organization. And, very importantly, you provide your employees with timely, constructive feedback on a regular basis, not hesitating to recognize and reward good performance when you see it.

So, where do you go from here?

As a manager or supervisor, it’s likely you are accustomed to career planning and how to do it. After you self-assess your communication skill capabilities, develop a personal roadmap for improvement. In most organizations, the Human Resources Department is your source for information about tools, training and techniques you can utilize to develop your skills.

Your personal communications improvement plan may include a combination of training and testing new ideas, such as weekly team meetings or brief, weekly “progress reviews” with each employee to touch base with them and discuss their progress and offer guidance and support.

In the end, though, successful managerial communicators are ones who strongly believe in the power of communications to help them achieve their goals; and they transfer that belief into their work routine every day. They simply make the time and effort required to communicate effectively with their employees. And it usually pays off in strong results generated by a well-informed, motivated and productive workforce.

Skill Model for Leadership Managerial Communications

Skill Category: Visioning, Expectation Setting, Information Sharing

Skill Category: Creating open, two-way communications

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COACH is produced by Motiv8 Communications, Port Orange, Florida P: 386-322-9802 E: motiv8comm@aol.com