What channel are you communicating on?
Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Interpersonal, Text, Facetime, Mail, Facsimile, Social Media... the list goes on. Which of these communication channels do you communicate on and what are you communicating on them? The answer to that is important in leadership. Remember, subordinates will latch onto the words and deeds of a leader regardless of the method of delivery. Wouldn't it be nice to know your messages were delivered and received as you would like them to be?
I was teaching virtual leadership to a hungry group of leaders this week and we spent some quality time talking about what channels their company had and what needed to be (or not needed to be) communicated on them. It was a rich and refreshing discussion, the kind which needs to occur in any organized collection of people.
In the training module we talked about the current work environment and how, while the 'office' may have changed, leadership has not - especially communication. In fact communication is of greater importance in the WFH environment. We discussed the bad habits of communication such as poor listening, qualifiers, and equating experiences. I shared the 5 C's of communication: clear, concise, compelling request, curious, and compassionate I found in a Forbes article authored by Cheryl Keates. Then we reviewed and discussed a few communication examples. Students learned that certain types of communication belong on certain channels. Here are some examples.
Something contentious: Interpersonal
Something requiring, feedback, deeper understanding and dialogue: Phone, MS Teams or the like
General information: Email
Short bits of information: Slack or a similar chat application.
So many of the channels which exist in the modern office are tremendously useful and efficient. But so many of them are the wrong venues for anything contentious or lengthy. The point here is to be more deliberate as a leader when communicating. Consider the audience, the message, the intended outcome, and then think about what channel it belongs on. The answer may not be the convenient one, but leadership after all, is not about convenience.
Make it Personal!
Rob
Rob Campbell