Team Communication Skills

Developing effective team communication skills starts by instilling ownership. . .

Creative people, like you and me, want to feel a sense of ownership in our day-to-day work lives. We want to "buy in" to the system and the team within which we work.

This "buying in" is initiated by good communication. . . the way we communicate the ideas, strategies, and frameworks by which we work.

Our ideals can be our friends or our enemies

As a leader, effective communication is a matter of getting to know what makes the individuals on our teams tick on a personal level. Then begin the dialogue by establishing a working relationship on that level.

Significant time, resources, and energy is required to establish relationships like these on some large corporate teams, but for small business teams, where resources are not always easy to come by, time and energy must make up the difference.

The rewards are worth it. . .

On small teams, the ability to make meaningful personal connections with your fellow team members is easier because you must work closely together to accomplish your goals.

Even on small teams the principles of leadership still apply:

You must:

• Model the Way
• Inspire a Shared Vision
• Challenge the Process
• Enable Action
• Encourage the Heart

These are real principles of good team building and the result of effective team communication skills.

By keeping these principles in mind while communicating collectively with your team, or individually with the team members you can develop deeper relationships and more effectively get your employees to "buy in" to your organizational concept.

For us, the shared sense of ownership in the workplace is true empowerment because you feel the swell of pride when you realize your team and organization truly represents what you stand for individually. Your identity doesn't have to make adjustments for the actions of your organization.

This concept begins with the words you use individually, at the team level, and an organizational level. Good, effective communication is the key that unlock true organizational performance.

But still, how do we ensure effective communication on our team? And how does our communication impact how people perform?

In a team setting, effective team communication skills come at a huge premium.

Studies have shown, through good communication we can get more done, more effectively, and quicker that when the lines of communication break down.

Be the Guy in the Middle of the Network

By making deeper, more meaningful, connections with more people on your team and nurturing those connections is the true beginning of effective team communication skills.

Using these skills you'll inspire more, higher quality work from individual team members, make more connections, and leverage the collective value of your entire team.

With open lines of communication, information will flow back to you like a river because you'll find yourself more connected to the sources of feedback and "centers of influence' within your organization.

Making these meaningful connections is essential to effective team communication skills for your entire team because by modeling right action, you inspire your team to do the same.