By Brielle Wohlenhaus
It's no secret that many organizations struggle with cultural blocks. The root cause? A lack of effective and flowing communication.
If a natural and strategic flow of communication is lacking in your ecosystem, you're setting not only your team up for failure but the whole company.
You may be wondering: what does this have to do with communication strategy? Everything.
If a leader isn't investing proper time, effort, and energy to make sound hiring decisions and identify candidates with exceptional communication skills—regardless of their role—they'll soon be dealing with not only regretted attrition but regretted decisions.
Picture this:
Think of the interview process as an educational journey. If you rush this process, you'll inevitably make wrong decisions. Aim to interview as many people as possible in the shortest time to find your A players.
When hiring, ask candidates how they'll perform their job better than anyone else in their industry and what they'll do to increase company revenue.
If a candidate speaks in generic terms like "I'm going to help make the company more money by driving sales," you're left wondering about the specifics of their process.
However, if someone says, "I'm going to help drive revenue by converting leads, nurturing leads, and increasing the average conversion percentage across those leads for the team," that's the type of well-thought-out response you're looking for.
Focus on their answers through their communication style. Pay attention to body posture, tonality, and most importantly, personality!
I get it; we're human. No one wakes up eager to have a difficult conversation. But they're inevitable, so we might as well not only get used to them but use them to our advantage.
Consider this: If you knew that after having a difficult conversation, you'd get your dream outcome, wouldn't you be more inclined—even excited—to have it? Absolutely.
This mindset shift changed everything for me, and I started achieving many dream outcomes from these difficult conversations (which is the goal).
Having uncomfortable conversations not only promotes growth and learning but also strengthens your ability to communicate confidently.
Difficult conversations are gateways to understanding when to speak up for ourselves, when to drop the ego, when to walk away from a conversation, and when to continue a conversation at a different time.
The more difficult conversations you have, the more you'll understand how people think, function, and react. Again, you can use this to your advantage as an excellent learning opportunity.
I hate to break it to you, but I've met and worked with many people who think they're great communicators, while their teams, spouses, kids, etc., might disagree.
Sometimes we simply need to learn the power of putting our ego aside and understanding that it isn't a flaw to ask for help and strengthen a skill that will transform every area of our life.
Where I may struggle with something, my neighbour excels, and vice versa. We were all given different gifts and talents for a reason.
Start investing in your interpersonal skills, with communication being the greatest one.
Watch how you'll start to increase revenue in your business, gain more sales, maximize your relationships, boost your confidence drastically, and so much more.
One of the most significant components of effective communication is learning to listen actively—not just to speak, but to understand.
This vast, often overlooked strategy baffles me. (Don't worry; I've had to work on it myself.)
Whether in your personal or professional life, humans will be humans. We all love to talk, especially about ourselves, BUT we crave validation—we want to be seen, heard, and appreciated.
We receive all these things when someone truly listens to and understands our words.
Want to reduce regretted attrition? Listen. Want more sales in your business? Listen. Want better relationships with your spouse, employees, kids, and friends? Listen.
Especially as founders, it's essential to articulate a clear and compelling vision for the company. Even if it's just you at the moment, having a clearly communicated and understood vision will be the backbone of your business.
It's your mission—your "Why."
Assuming you have employees, ensure everyone understands and aligns with this vision. If not, it's only a matter of time before people drop off or leave if they don't know what they're working for or towards.
If the vision changes or moves in a different direction, communicate this desire. Again, ensure everyone is still on the same page.
Communicate in a way that inspires and motivates your team, making them feel part of something larger. Being seen, validated, and appreciated is another huge aspect of creating and maintaining a high-performance team.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brielle Wohlenhaus
Brielle Wohlenhaus, Founder of CrossGen Media, is striving to change the way the world communicates. This passion started forming at a very young age as she noticed many people lacked this crucial life skill and wanted to be the change she wishes to see.
Her mission is straightforward. Whether it's with an individual or a company, she focuses on creating the best possible communicators and bridging the necessary gaps to create high-performing teams and leaders in any organization. After all, the best people work for the best teams, which is where her seamless communication strategies come into play.
She works with people who want to become the most confident and articulate speakers, ultimately achieving maximized leadership. This includes navigating difficult conversations, communicating confidently, speaking up for yourself during challenging times, and becoming a more respected leader in your industry.
The reality is that a leader can't build a cohesive quality culture with a high-performing team if they are not a highly respected individual with proper communication skills.
Work on this essential life skill and watch your whole life transform.
Contact Brielle Wohlenhaus here.
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