Clear and candid communication is always important for leaders to foster. Reducing uncertainty where you can reduces stress.
During times like these when stress is high, you might consider having one or more communication plans that go beyond increased meetings.
It should go without saying that a person and their physical/mental health should come first in any conversations, but when it comes to managing the work, we’re facing some challenges today.
Ron spoke yesterday to a group I’m in and shared one way to improve daily communication about the work between a leader and their team.
At the end of each day, each person on the team sends their manager/leader an email answering 3 questions:
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- What did I work on today?
- What will I work on tomorrow?
- How can my manager/leader help me right now?
- What did I work on today?
The purpose is not to micromanage the work, but to stay in touch about what’s happening and how a good leader can serve their team.
Email me if you’d like to have a conversation about this or comment below and let me know your thoughts.
*This originally appeared on LinkedIn. If you’d like to join the conversation, click here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/reachingresults_leadership-communication-reachingresults-activity-6651105903686807552-mVNn
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Communication continues to rank high if not first on all the “desired soft skill” lists I’ve seen. One technique that I’ve tried, and personally feel is effective, is the “Quick Huddle” concept. As leaders, we all have a pretty good idea of what times of the day are best and worst to pull our teams together. If there is key information that needs to be communicated face to face, perhaps calling a standing meeting for 10 minutes or so (the “Quick Huddle”) is all that’s needed. It’s short, to the point and can be very effective.
Think of some convenient locations to have it, for example, standing outside someone’s office, or in nice weather out by the picnic area.
Point to consider – As Team members quickly come to know that a “Quick Huddle” means something important is going to be communicated, we need to be selective on when we use them. Give it a try!