“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place” — George Bernard Shaw
Communication has been a large topic of conversation in our business over the years. And the more we grow in our capacity year after year, the more we realize the problems that go on when communication lacks! I cannot express the number of situations with an upset client or between team members that could have been prevented with better communication. That quote above couldn’t be more spot on. The assumption that something has been properly communicated. This is definitely a part of our Continuous Improvement culture. To grow in our communication abilities! I’m already coining our word for 2023, but am not letting that not stop the fighter to better it now – COMMUNICATION!
Leaders cannot succeed in life without communicating effectively. It’s not enough just to work hard; it’s not enough to just do a great job. To be successful, you must learn how to really communicate with others, and that means learning how to connect with them.
Ask yourself these few questions…
1. Have you ever gotten frustrated because your people just weren’t doing what they are “supposed” to do?
2. Have you ever wanted a pay raise, and needed your boss to understand just how much value you bring to the company?
3. Have you ever wanted your kids to really listen so you could help them make better choices?
4. Have you ever wanted to improve your relationship (whether friendship or marriage)?
Those are all communication challenges we may face at some point in our journey. If you can’t find a way to communicate effectively, you will have more and more adversities and trials everywhere you turn!
After years of leadership, and more mistakes than I’d like to admit with assumptions on the outcome of situations, I can say this confidently: If you want to succeed, you must learn how to communicate well with others. If you can connect with others at every level, you have the capacity for strengthening your relationships, generating the greatest teamwork, and multiplying your level of influence!
Let me ask you this – How much healthier would your relationships be if you excelled at connecting? Would your relationship with your significant other improve? Would your relationships with your kids? What about your Team?
I could go on and on about this idea! Anyone can learn to connect if they’ll be intentional about it; and anyone who wants to live an intentional life understands the benefit that connecting with others brings. I don’t do this in all of my blogs, but this feels like a good spot for a call to action. Take a few minutes today and do the following: Evaluate your connection skills – Where do they need improving? Where are they strongest? Spend some time reflecting about some of your most recent conversations; did you search for common values, or vision? What did you do to make the other people feel connected with you?
I am blessed to be able to work with my wife in our business. And we live very busy lives between kids activities, and everything else we have going outside of Atlas. One question I get asked a lot is how do we manage to make time for each other and also still serve in the leadership capacity we do. While I can say humbly that it is no easy feat, one thing I can say that I know we have had to work at mastering, is effective communication with each other as to who is handling what and on which day and when! When our communication rhythm gets out of whack, that is when things become rocky!
The one thing that makes or breaks a leader is the ability to connect with others. The further along in leadership and life we go, the more effective we must become at connecting with our people. I can tell you this wholeheartedly, our success depends on it! I’m a work in progress, but one of my personal growth goals is to make it a continuous strive to be better with it.