"Communicating with IMPACT" - Patrick Donadio, MBA

Effective Leaders Are Positive. A good leader understands the key role communication skills play in their success. Are you the type of leader that brightens up the room when you walk in or when you walk out?Effective leaders understand the importance of building good relationships. One way to do that is to be a positive force in the organization. Employees will take your lead. Be someone that people want to talk to not someone people have to talk to ACTION: Compliment others - Look for what others are doing right. It is easier to find fault. Find positive behaviors and reward those actions. What is reward is repeated. Write/talk about the success of your team, project, department or the industry in general. I am not asking you to neglect the challenges going on just to make sure you have a balanced view. Encourage others to be positive. Ask questions to elicited the good things others are doing. I will be sharing more areas that can help leaders communicate their messages more ...

A good leader understands the key role communication skills play in their success. Effective Leaders Are Other Focused . The most important person in the conversation is the other person. “It’s all about me” is the mantra. The key here is it is not all about you... it is all about the other person . Find ways to focus on the other person in the conversation. For example, ask a question, bring up a current accomplishment of theirs (or their team/department)... ACTION Pay attention to how often you are "me" focused or "other" focused in your conversations. Keep a journal of what you notice. Here are a few questions to ask yourself: What drives me to the "Me" mode? How did I catch myself? How can I catch myself sooner? When I catch myself what can I do to shift to the "other" focus mode? (Hint - revisit this blog series for some tips...) In the meantime, if you have any successes or questions about leadership communication let me know and ...

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. “...

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 commun...

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 ? Yo...

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 ...

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 wh...

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 t...

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 Being Positive. You set the tone for your environment. An optimistic attitude from a leader can carry over to others. What type of tone are you setting at the office? Is it one of optimism? Or one of pessimism? Confidence is contagious as so is lack of confidence. Remember - Employees mirror the tone that leaders set. Be an encourager. Next time I will talk about Recognition. Do you have any successes or questions about been positive as a leader? Let me know and I will share them with my readers. E-mail Patrick

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 Initiating Initiate – Initiate conversations to help find solutions. Don’t always dictate change. Initiate change by creating atmosphere where creative juices can flow freely. Asking questions is a great way to initiate conversations. Try asking open-ended questions to help people focus on solutions, for example: “What can we do better as a company?” Encourage suggestions for improvement. Set out a suggestion box and reward good suggestions. Continually strive to Make the future better than the present.. An optimistic attitude from a leader can carry over to others. Ne...

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 Consistency. Don't be a tyrant one day and a pussycat the next. Flip-flopping between styles confuses employees. Also make decisions consistently. Those that look to you for leadership must know what to expect on a daily basis. We connect with some workers better than others. Try not to let the relationship taint your response. Treat all employees equally. Enforce company policies fairly. It is more difficult with the co-workers who are different than you. Remember to not to take things personally. When you take things personally it shifts how you react/respond, th...

Improving leadership skills increases the performance of those you work with and allows for advancement within a company. As a leadership communications coach I have identified 18 traits successful leaders possess. Over the next few weeks I would like to discuss six key traits that can help you as a leader reach your next level of leadership. Today let’s talk about Visibility. Circulating the workplace will make you appear more approachable and available. Take advantage of every opportunity to interact with co-workers. Be supportive of others and try to help out with the little things. Management by Wandering around ( MBWA ) works! Make sure to practice visibility upwards as will as downwards. You do not have to always be physically present to be visible. Writing articles for you company newsletter, sending out a thank you note, conducting a teleconference... these are also ways to be visible. Next time I will talk about Consistency. What are some ways you have been visible as a ...