Five Active Listening Skills

A good leader understands the key role communication skills play in their success.

Talking is great but listening is where the real learning takes place. Here are five ways to become an Active Listener:

1. Do an Internal Summary - Concentrate on what is being said and try to summarize the main points in your mind. Listen to understand, not to respond.
2. Ask Questions - Yes this is part of being an "Active Listener." If you don’t understand, wait for a break, politely interrupt and ask a question.
3. Take Notes - Engage yourself by taking notes.
4. Timing - If it is not a good time to talk, say so. Reschedule when you will be more focused
5. Listen with Your Eyes - Eye contact helps you stay focused and to see the non-verbal part of the message. Any mismatched signals could give you more insight. (See blog post Effective Leaders Communicate Effectively! )

ACTION

Try using some of these techniques in your conversations this week. The key is to catch yourself not paying attention (my last blog homework) and then shift into one of the above techniques.

In the meantime, if you have any successes or questions about leadership communication Let me know and I will share them with my readers. E-mail Patrick

Effective Leaders Listen!

Effective leaders understand that good communication also involves the ability to give clear direction and productive feedback.

Here is another of my leadership communication skills tips to help you communicate your message more effectively:

Listen - do you hear what I hear? Our brain can process information three times faster than people can speak. This GAP is what makes us either good or poor listeners. Listening is a learned skill that involves utilizing the GAP between how fast we think/process information and how fast others speak. So next time someone is talking with you, force yourself to use the GAP to stay focused on the other person.

ACTION
Practice catching yourself drifting off when someone is talking with you. The first step to change is awareness. Once you are aware of the challenge then you can adjust what you are doing with the GAP to be a better listener.

Join me next time as I share "Five Ways to Use the GAP to be a Better Listener". So be sure to check back.

In the meantime, if you have any successes or questions about leadership communication Let me know and I will share them with my readers. E-mail Patrick

Effective Leaders Communicate both Priorities and Deadlines

Effective leaders understand that good communication also involves the ability to give clear direction and productive feedback.

Here is another of my leadership communication skills tips to help you communicate your message more effectively:

Communicate both priorities and deadlines. Sure you can walk up to an employee and ask for a list of tasks to be done. But without context, the employee might not do the tasks in the order you expected or might not complete them in the timeframe you wanted. Effective leaders communicate priorities and/or help employees prioritize.

Effective leaders also are not afraid to ask, “When can you get this done?” Whenever possible, it is a good idea to create deadlines together. An employee might have several other projects going at the same time, and while you might not want to compromise time, you don’t want to sacrifice quality.

ACTION During the next few weeks pay attention to how often you communicate priorities and deadlines. 1. Are you communicating priorities and helping the employee prioritize? 2. Are you giving them the deadline and/or creating the deadlines together? These two questions will help you become more aware of your need to improve on these two areas.

I will be sharing more areas that can help leaders communicate their messages more effectively.

So be sure to check back.In the meantime, if you have any successes or questions about leadership communication Let me know and I will share them with my readers. E-mail Patrick

Leaders Communicate Effectively! - Use Questions

Effective leaders understand that good communication also involves the ability to give clear direction and productive feedback. They also know when to ask questions and how to encourage new ideas among their employees.

Here is another of my leadership communication skills tips to help you communicate your message more effectively:


Use Questions to Uncover Information. “Effective leaders use great questions.” When an employee comes to you with a challenge, instead of giving them an answer (the default mode for many leaders) ask them a question instead.

Questions allow you to collect information before you give the answer (diagnose before you prescribe). Questions can empower employees by helping them think through a challenge and forcing them to search for answers or new ideas on their own. If they uncover the answers, employees are more likely to embrace them. Leaders can also use questions as a check for understanding and to see whether the listener got the essence of the message.

“Seek first to understand then to be understood.” - Stephen Covey, author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

ACTION
During the next few weeks pay attention to how you communicate with employees. Are you quickly giving them the answer or are you asking questions first? Carry an index card and track your communication: 1) How often do you ask questions? 2) How often do you give answers?

If you are not asking questions at least 50% of the time, you may want to reconsider how you communicate with others.


Over the next few weeks I will be sharing more areas that can help leaders communicate their messages more effectively. So be sure to check back.

In the meantime, if you have any successes or questions about leadership communication Let me know and I will share them with my readers. E-mail Patrick

Leaders Communicate Effectively! - Explain the “Why”

Effective leaders understand that good communication involves sharing the bigger picture!

Here is another of my leadership communication skills tips to help you communicate your message more effectively:

Explain the “why” behind the message. More and more, people want to know the reasons behind what they are being asked to do. Not explaining the “why” often means employees won’t be engaged with what you are saying. By taking the time to explain why something needs to be done, you create an atmosphere of understanding and engagement. The more engaged the better result.


ACTION
During these challenging and hectic times, after you communicate a decision, a new policy or a change in existing procedures... take a few minutes and explain the “Why” behind the decision.


Over the next few weeks I will be sharing a few areas that can help leaders communicate their messages more effectively. So be sure to check back.

In the meantime, if you have any successes or questions about leadership communication Let me know and I will share them with my readers. E-mail Patrick

Leaders Communicate Effectively! - Personality Styles

Effective leaders understand that good communication also involves the ability to give clear direction and productive feedback. They also know when to ask questions and how to encourage new ideas among their employees.

Here is the first of my leadership communication skills tips to help you communicate your message more effectively:

Adjust your message to the personality of the listener. When having an interpersonal conversation it helps to know the person's communication style. There are four communication styles. For today's discussion I will look at two - 1. Introverts 2. Extroverts. Based on where the person falls on this continuum you can adjust your conversation style to improve communication.

Here are a few practical tips for dealing with each these two styles:

ACTION

If they are an Introvert? You may want to ask open ended questions to draw out their thoughts. Also be patient. They may need a little time to think before they respond.

If they are an Extrovert? You may want to plan a little extra time for the conversations because they need to talk. Also you might want to ask closed ended questions to guide the conversations and help them get to the point quicker.

Think before you communicate. Different personality styles require different approaches.

Over the next few weeks I will be sharing other tips that can help you as a leader communicate your messages more effectively. Be sure to check back.

In the meantime, if you have any successes or questions about leadership communication let me know and I will share them with my readers. E-mail Patrick

Effective Leaders Communicate Effectively!

Communication skills are a fundamental tool to becoming a great leader. While simple tasks can often be communicated in a traditional way, the majority of communication is much more complex.

In today’s work environment we are getting away from linear communication. Instead, our communication has shifted to being a two-way street, embracing situations involving teamwork and dialogue.

Over the next few weeks I would like to talk about some key communication skills that leaders need to lead in these challenging times.

Today let's start with the three components to interpersonal communication:

1. Words
2. Voice
3. Non-verbal action

Words tend to be the focus of most people who are trying to communicate, but in reality they may make up only 7-15 percent of the message. The rest of the message is communicated through vocal inflection, tone and body language.

ACTION - So during these hectic times before you communicate be sure to stop... and ask yourself... what tone and body language should I use to best convey my message (the words)!

Over the next few weeks I will be sharing four areas that can help leaders communicate their messages more effectively. So be sure to check back.

In the meantime, if you have any successes or questions about leadership communication Let me know and I will share them with my readers. E-mail Patrick

Create More Business in 2009!

Work smarter not harder in 2009!

I help my clients grow their business by working “smarter not harder”. Here is one of the techniques I teach my clients in my new workshop, The Business Attraction Factor.

One secret to working smarter not harder is to “systematize” your business. One area to systematize is your sales/marketing process.

Here is how you can create your own sales/marketing system:

First, choose your top 15-30 best clients from the past 2-3 years. Then, by looking backwards, analyze how you obtained them and what you did to help them make this list. For each client, begin asking and categorizing the answers to these three questions into three sections:

1) Before - What did you do to get them?
2) During - What did you do while you were servicing them?
3) After - What did you do after the sale to keep them or sell more to them?

After dissecting each client you will begin to notice certain patterns you are repeating --common denominators. Write these common denominators on a master sheet in one of the three areas: 1) Before, 2) During 3) After.

You have just recreated your sales/marketing recipe that will help you be your best in 2009. Begin applying this system to every client and potential client. Continue to fine-tune your system by adding to it and subtracting from it. Now you have a system that not only creates great clients, but also generates more repeat business with each client. This approach will help you make sure you (or your staff) more consistently perform at the sales/marketing process. Make 2009 a great year!

Feel free to visit http://www.businessattractionfactor.com/ to learn more about my new business coaching program.

Do you have any successes or questions about sales/marketing? Let me know and I will share them with my readers. E-mail Patrick

Traits Successful Leaders Possess - Responsibility

Traits Successful Leaders Possess - Responsibility

Improving leadership skills increases the performance of those you work with and enhances your opportunities (and the opportunities of those you lead) for advancement within a company.

As a leadership communications coach I have identified 18 traits successful leaders possess. Over the next few months I would like to discuss a few of these key traits that can help you grow and develop as a leader.

Today let’s talk about Responsibility

Leaders accept challenges as well as successes. Employees will never respect a leader who deflects criticism towards the team. Successful leaders think of themselves as “we” not “I.” It is a leader’s responsibility to ensure that everyone shares in the team’s success and that the team learns from its mistakes. If an employee makes a mistake, it is your responsibility to help him or her improve as well.

Here is an assignment for this week: Look for "Learning Opportunities”. When you see an area where you , an employee, or the team can improve take responsibility and turn that "mistake" into a "learning opportunity". You can do this by asking two simple questions – 1. What did we “do well" in the situation? 2. Where “can we improve”? Then continue using your strenghts and work on the areas for improvement. So be on the lookout for learning opportunities!

Do you have any successes or questions about this trait as a leader? Let me know and I will share them with my readers. E-mail Patrick

Traits Successful Leaders Possess - Recognition

Improving leadership skills increases the performance of those you work with and enhances your opportunities (and the opportunities of those you lead) for advancement within a company.

As a leadership communications coach I have identified 18 traits successful leaders possess. Over the next few months I would like to discuss a few of these key traits that can help you grow and develop as a leader.

Today let’s talk about Recognition

Recognition is a valuable communication tool! Most people care more about recognition from leaders and peers than about money.

When an employee performs well, let him or her know. Happy people give better customer service.

Recognition also goes along way towards keeping good people. According to the U.S. Department of Labor:

“46% of those who quit their jobs last year did so because they felt unappreciated”.

Here is an assignment for this week: Each day give five sincere compliments to various workers. Be on the lookout for some positive action or behavior that leads to results and give them a bit of praise for it. For some tips of how to effectively do this here is an article I wrote on the effective use of recognition/appreciation.

Next time I will talk about Responsibility.

Do you have any successes or questions about this trait as a leader? Let me know and I will share them with my readers. E-mail Patrick