Communicate Effectively

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A key leadership skill is effective communication: the ability to listen to and consider a range of perspectives and then express them clearly, effectively, and confidently. Effective communication supports team cohesion, problem-solving, and learning. Communication style will depend on the situation, audience, and the purpose.  
Fry Building, School of Mathematics, University of Bristol
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How you can demonstrate this behaviour in practice:

Communicate the vision and set expectations

Communicating your vision enables others to understand how they fit into the wider picture, and to engage with and contribute towards shared goals. Setting expectations avoids confusion, increases clarity, and allows everyone to be held to account. This enables people to be motivated, committed, and successful.

Listen to understand

Effective listening helps you to understand others and their different perspectives and experience. “Listening to understand” is a key skill, which requires you to focus on what the other person is saying and ask relevant questions. This facilitates knowledge-sharing and collaborative working and is critical for building strong relationships.

Consider your audience

We must recognise that different styles of communication work best for different people and contexts. People may also need to be supported to communicate effectively. Reflect on your audience, and adapt the tone, channel, and timing of your communications appropriately.  Effective communication includes following up on communications, thanking people directly, sharing information regularly and in a timely manner, and creating time and space for personal and group interactions.

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