Leadership Development Series ~ Communication
Welcome back!
How are things going as you set expectations and delegate? What hangups have you noticed? Have you found any weak areas that seem to be a pattern? Remember, weaknesses only remain weaknesses when we hide them in the closet or back in the shadows!
Are you ready for the last piece in this leadership series? I want to say it’s the easiest one, but that’s only true if you have been following along and putting the work in!
Let’s talk about … talking!
Communication is the single most important thing for your success as a business leader who is growing a team. It’s a skill that we must intentionally work on daily and in every area of our lives. I can't shout this loudly enough!
When working virtually, we are obviously not in the office with our team, so perfecting our communication skills is vital! Not only does it help to build our working relationships, but it makes our teammates feel and know they are supported. I often tell our people to imagine that they ARE in the office with their teammates. Think of the touchpoints you might have daily in that scenario and envision how to replicate it virtually. In-person, you might share a breakroom where there’s a 10-minute spot that isn’t really related to work tasks but rather you get to share your weekend plans. Don’t forget to include the same human touches with your virtual team as well!
Here are a few of my favorite quick tips for polishing your communication style within your team:
Have a weekly meeting!
If your teammate is not in the office with you, this is the one thing that will make or break your work relationship and ultimately, your team. However, it’s vitally important even if your team shares office space. My team is virtual, so we do this over a video call.
The time you and your teammate share in these meetings is when the relationship is built. Of course, we provide and receive feedback regarding the past week, discuss ongoing projects, and assign new tasks, but it’s also where you and your teammate can look one another in the face and gauge how things are going overall! It’s when expectations can be shared, evaluated, and adjusted as necessary!
If you’re working with Rock Solid, you have received our suggested guidelines for your weekly meeting. This is great in the beginning, but we know as your relationship grows, those guidelines will morph and shift to fit you and your team! The way it’s grown over here is that we have a checklist within our Trello boards for each weekly meeting. If there is a topic I need to discuss with my project manager, Diana, she’ll put it on the checklist. I now know in advance that she’s looking for some specific answer and needs to discuss and I can show up ready to jump in!
ALERT:
I promise that when your week gets crazy and unexpected stressors arise, your first inclination is going to be to push your weekly meeting to the next week. If that happens occasionally, it will be okay. BUT… if it becomes a habit, I guarantee issues will arise, expectations will not be met (because they haven’t been ID’d or stated), and the relationship overall will begin to crack. We’ve seen this over and over and over!! Give your teammate 30 minutes of your week and she’ll rock your world with her talent, skills, and heart for you and your business!
Find a communication channel that works best for you ~ and use it regularly!
My team loves and uses Voxer daily to keep everyone updated on the things we are working on and new things that might pop up as the week goes on. Of course, there’s texting, Slack, email, and more… but hearing the voice of my teammates tells me so much more than another email or text. I can hear the tone of their voice and discern if they are frustrated, excited, or overwhelmed. Remember… your team members are your people!! My team does soooo much more than manage my social media, teams, finances, and admin tasks. I care so deeply for every one of them and their families. The relationships we share have been built on trust and communication!
A quick note about weekly meetings - even with the very best communication, ~ meaning yes, the overuse of Voxer, haha! ~ weekly meetings are very important as they keep things intentional. If I know that I'm going to be asked for an update or details, I'm going to show up ready. If I know that my teammate needs a certain set of things completed that week, I'm going to get those things done and ready for her before our weekly meeting. Otherwise, I know I'm going to hear about it! We completely overuse and possibly abuse Voxer, but it certainly doesn't take the place of our weekly meeting!
Share a daily recap!
Depending on your preference, you might ask for your teammate to send a daily or weekly recap. Perhaps they might email or Vox a list of items that are finished and items that are still in progress. I receive this from my teammates daily. I truly trust my team and know that if there is something I need to be on top of and handle personally, they’ll make sure I’m very aware. But the daily recaps are just a piece of mind for me that they are on top of whatever it is they need to be on top of. In all reality, it simply shows their excellent spirit! They are confirming that they’ve handled their responsibilities and I don’t need to worry or even give it a thought!
I hope you’ve been stretched and even yanked a bit out of your comfort zone during this 3-part Leadership Series! It’s okay to be uncomfortable and to realize shortcomings and weaknesses. That’s how we grow into all that we were created to be! The only thing that standing still grows is mold!
Shifting gears from Solopreneur to CEO is not easy - but it’s absolutely possible to do and to do well. Many people can own a business but not many can lead a business well. Developing a Business-Leader Mindset and finding the perfect teammate to keep growing your dreams is only the beginning ~
