What do great women leaders have in common? They are masters of good communication.

If you want to be successful in your present position or you are targeting your next promotion, these 12 tips of great women leaders are guaranteed to help you succeed.

If you become highly skilled at communication, you will join a small percentage of good leaders. Unfortunately, many leaders never take the time and effort to become effective Communicators…

Poor Communication: The Root Cause of Failure

 Poor communication is the root cause of failure for teams, companies and even getting promoted. The cost of poor communication at work include:

• Litigation
• Costs Profits of The Company
• Hurts Brand
•  Poor Customer Service
•  Absenteeism
• Employee Turnover
• Poor Employee Engagement
• Injuries

Shocking Statistics: Bad & Good Communications at Work

Workplace failures: 86% of employees blame lack of good communication and collaboration for workplace failures (Fierce Inc.).

46% Don’t know what to do: Forty-six percent of employees rarely or never leave a meeting, knowing what they’re supposed to do next… (Thermal Corporation).

Misleading & untruthful: Less than half of the survey respondents said that their organizations discuss issues truthfully and effectively (Salesforce).

Valuation increased 30%: Top communicating companies experiencing some 30% higher market valuation compared with their poorer communicating” cousins. Watson, Wyatt & Company

The Great News of Good Communication

  ·   Resolves Problems

·     Improve Profits

·     Unites Teams

·     Increase Valuation

·     Improves Employee Engagement

·     Better Customer Service

·     Increase Efficiency

·     Breakthrough Innovation

·     Improves Collaboration

·     Employee Retention

The following important communication tips will help you to increase your influence, success, and the employee engagement at your company.

How to Get Started to be One of The Great Women Leaders

If you like what you are reading, I have designed this so you can download the 12 Masterful Communication Tips to be a Great Leader to post on your wall or bulletin board. I have also included some important Women’s Leadership Success podcast interviews and blog posts on this critical subject on leadership development (especially for women). See free leadership communication resources below.

Look at it daily to remind you (and your team) of the communication skills that you can continually improve to get promoted, become a better leader, or engage team members.

Ask yourself on each of the 12 key leadership skills below, where can I improve?

Success & Challenges: Short Leadership Case Studies

I will be sharing in my LinkedIn posts, over the next couple weeks, specific examples of businesses, academic institutions, and government agencies I’ve coached and consulted that had leadership challenges or wanted to go to a higher level. 

• What were the “opportunity gaps”?
• What we did to improve leadership?
• What were some the positive outcomes from this leadership development work together? 

12 MASTERFUL COMMUNICATION TIPS OF GREAT WOMEN LEADERS By Sabrina Braham MA MFT PCC

1. SET YOUR INTENTION

·     What action do you want them to take?

·     What is the outcome you want from this communication?

·     How do you want others to feel, i.e., motivated, inspired, or excited?

2. LISTEN AND BE PRESENT

·     Come with an open mind.

·     Be present: that means pay attention.

·     Don’t assume they think like you do.

3. NOTICE BODY LANGUAGE

·     What are the non-verbal cues you are getting from the person you are talking with?

·     Pay attention to your body language, posture, facial expressions, and tone of voice.

4. CLARIFY THE CONVERSATION

·     Ask for clarification.

·     Stop assuming you know what someone means.

·     Pay attention to the problem or concern behind their questions or comments.

·     Learn to respond with empathy.

5. ASK FOR FEEDBACK

·     One of the differences between being a great leader and a mediocre leader is asking for feedback.

·     Say thank you and then take action to change your behavior.

6. SOLICIT OTHERS’ OPINIONS

·     Build a safe experience for people to share contrary or opposing views. This will help you keep current on the morale of the team, increase collaboration, and build trust.

7. BE BRIEF & SHARE THE WHY

·     When you have an important communication, for maximum impact, keep it brief.

·     Plan & prepare your main points, edit out unneeded verbiage & rehearse.

·     Share why I/we are doing this helps people get more engaged with directives and request

8. COMMIT TO GREAT COMMUNICATION

·     Notice gaps in directions, execution & outcomes. Have a method to review, regroup, and recalibrate to consistently improve.

9. SPEAK ‘WITH’ AND ‘NOT TO’ PEOPLE

·     Whether you are speaking to a group or individual, talk to them as if you care about them and you are having a conversation, not a lecture.

10. DEVELOP RAPPORT

·     Understand feelings, ideas, and communication. Seek mutual understanding and trust. This is one of the key traits of great leaders.

11. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

·     Everyone has a story, ask people about their lives and work.

·     Follow-up: ask people how they are doing with a project, an issue, or a family story they had shared with you in an earlier conversation.

12. BE POSITIVE IN YOUR WORDS AND ACTIONS

·     Be supportive and give doable instructions.

·     To decrease defensiveness and increase motivation, avoid being critical and complaining.

Additional Free Leadership Communication Resources of Great Women Leaders

• 12 MASTERFUL COMMUNICATION TIPS TO BE A GREAT LEADER
•  Diana Booher: Effective Leadership Skills to Communicate Like a Leader (Podcast)
• The 5 Minute Secret to Feedback for Results (Blog Post)
• Terry Pearce: How to Develop Communication Skills for Women Leaders (Podcast)

Sabrina Braham’s Great Women Leaders Communication Tips

www.sabrinabraham.com | www.womensleadershipsuccess.com