How does communication help business leaders run a business?

See these five crucial tenets every leader must communicate throughout the organization to ensure success:

Communicate the Mission - People are motivated very strongly by a vision and mission. They want purpose to their work, not just a paycheck. A business leader that can effectively communicate the vision and mission of the organization to all employees will have a much more productive work force.

Embrace Change - Change is difficult and mostly people fight change. An effective business leader figures out how to communicate the need and benefit of change to everyone in the organization. A business with employees and managers that embrace, not fight change, will be much more successful.

Build a Strong Culture - A good business leader communicates by “walking the talk” and living the culture. Words are necessary and fine, but actions speak louder than words. A strong, defined and consistent culture is a hallmark of successful companies that survive for a long time. They have the strength to get through crisis, manage change, compete and navigate business downturns. A strong leader uses many methods of communicating to build and nurture the culture.

Foster Teamwork - Teamwork is not a natural skill or one that is formally taught often enough. An effective business leader will need to consciously build teamwork to enable teams to thrive in the organization. This will take many forms of communication such as: finding teaching moments, setting the example, coaching individuals and training team leaders. Highly effective teams will greatly improve the success of every business.

Learn Through Stories - A leader with good communication skills learns how to utilize stories. Stories are how humans learn best. Stories are very effective ways to transmit culture, inspire employees and set new directions for the company and have everyone get the point or lesson.

More on these communications ideas can be found at the Best Practices Wiki.net

• Communications Best Practices
• Effective Leaders Listen
• Communications: Rule of Three

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Terry Gardiner is the founder of the Best Practices Wiki, a free public repository of best practices for small businesses and nonprofits.  He has four decades of hands-on leadership, management and organizational growth experience in business, government and nonprofits.  He is the author of Six-Word Lessons to Build Effective Leaders.

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