LeaderShift: The leader as an effective communicator
A significant challenge facing younger leaders is the shift to a more formal communication style.
We know that millennials have spent most of their adult lives on social media, which usually translates to informal, emoji-filled missives.
What would happen once they’d have to discipline members of their team, or worse, fire an employee? Somehow a text or chat message would seem inappropriate in this scenario.
We asked Ruel de Vera, who will be conducting the second module of our LeaderShift series (the Leader as a Communicator), for his thoughts and insights on this matter.
How important is being a good communicator, for a leader?
Good communication skills are second only to vision when it comes to being a leader. Before you can impress or inspire, you must be understood.
You cannot ask people to follow you when they do not know what you stand for, what you plan to do and how you plan to do it.
Whether through written text or spoken words, a leader must reach out and include others in his or her endeavor. The more followers understand what their leader is saying, the stronger the unit becomes.
What are the important considerations in communicating to my team?
First, a leader must be clear about what it is he or she intends to do. Then, a leader must determine what manner or style is required to properly communicate with those they intend to lead.
Some followers require unambiguous instructions laid out in print all at once. Others require counseling through continuous communication. A good leader is able to toggle from one mode of communication to another.
How can younger millennial leaders, who may be used to communicating informally, adjust to the expectation of a more formal communication style?
Millennial leaders need to set their minds to a formal setting all the time. Workplace communication is always formal, so it would be beneficial for younger leaders to shift from the more casual style they use for their friends to one that’s more suited for the office. The earlier that’s done, the better.
We know that chat and messaging apps are preferred by millennials. Are there times when this would be appropriate in an office setting?
Messaging apps are as formal as you want them to be. They can be very useful for the workplace—everyone gets the messages right away, you can see each other’s responses and the conversations are saved. The important thing is to maintain a formal tone even when using the messaging apps, remembering to use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization at all times. (The author is Executive Director of Inquirer Academy.)
Ruel S. De Vera, together with Anna Esperanza, will be conducting the module on “The Leader as a Communicator” under the LeaderShift series which will be held on Sept. 6-7, 2016.
Topics will include writing e-mails and memos, important grammatical reminders, effective listening and other interpersonal communication principles.
Ruel is an author and editor of various books. Aside from the Carlos Palanca Award for Literature, he also has a Catholic Mass Media Award and Philippines Free Press Literary Award.
The LeaderShift program is specifically designed to help individual contributors transition to a line management role. The program is developed by Inquirer Academy and Salt & Light Ventures, a division of Breakthrough Leadership Management Consultancy. The other modules of LeaderShift are “The Leaders as a Performance Coach” and “The Leader as an Innovator”.
The Inquirer Academy is at 4168 Don Chino Roces Ave. corner Ponte St., Makati City. For more information about the LeaderShift modules or any future programs, you may email [email protected], call (632) 834-1557 and look for Jerald Miguel, or visit the website at www.inquireracademy.com.
