Komunikasi memang sangat penting bagi setiap individu. Dalam menjalani kehidupan,
setiap individu pasti melakukan komunikasi. Bentuk komunikasi bukan hanya dengan
berbicara, tetapi juga dengan mendengarkan dan menulis. Dari berbagai bentuk
komunikasi itulah dapat terciptanya kesinambungan antara satu individu dengan lainnya
sehingga dapat bekerja dengan efisien dan efektif.
Bagi para leader dalam perusahaan, communication skill ini wajib untuk dikuasai.
Mengapa seperti itu? Karena dalam sebuah struktur organisasi terciptanya hubungan
yang baik pada awalnya melalui komunikasi. Apabila komunikasi yang ada dalam suatu
perusahaan tidak berjalan dengan baik, maka sistem yang ada dalam perusahaan
tersebut pun akan terhambat karena terbentur dengan ego masing-masing individu.
Emeritus membahas sebuah topik mengenai pentingnya peran keterampilan
komunikasi dalam leadership. Artikel tersebut berjudul “Why Are Communication Skills
Necessary for Good Leadership?”. Mari kita simak pembahasan menarik ini, semoga
bermanfaat untuk para Mitra QR!
Why is Communication an Essential Skill for Effective Leadership?
Leaders must be good communicators because they inspire and empower people
around them, and without good communication skills, a leader would never be heard or
understood by others. Therefore, effective communication is an important non-technical skill that every leader must possess. Below are some reasons why good communication
skills are essential for effective leadership.
Develop A Bond
Effective leadership is measured by the time a team takes to complete a task without
any friction, and good communication skills play an important role in that. It brings
together the team members to achieve desired results by clearly defining goals and
responsibilities. Meanwhile, lack of communication makes it tough to achieve the goals
and decreases productivity. By clearly communicating goals, roles, responsibilities,
important information, and other things with their team, a manager develops a strong
bond with the team, devoid of miscommunications and quarrels.
Builds Trust
Trust binds a team together, and an effective leader ensures that they undertake
different activities to build trust among their team members. Leaders clearly
communicate the roles and responsibilities of all team members in a project beforehand,
avoiding confusion in the team and promoting trust.
Active Listening
A leader should be an active listener to become an effective communicator. They
should know when to stop talking and when to listen to their team members. By doing
this, they gain the employees’ trust, who then share their opinions, ideas, grievances,
etc., with the leader. Active listening also helps the leaders to understand their team
better, therefore, listening skills are equally important to communication skills for
effective leadership.
Clarity
An effective communicator has a clarity of thought which transforms into the words they
use to instruct and interact with team members. They clearly define the goals to be
fulfilled by team members and monitor if the team has successfully completed the goal
by the end of the milestone. If the team members fail to meet the goals, effective
leaders simplify goals to help employees understand them.
Empathy
Empathy is believed to be the top leadership skill needed to successfully execute
several business functions. Therefore, leaders must acknowledge and be empathetic
towards the perils and adversities their employees face. If need be, they should put
themselves in employees’ shoes and make decisions that benefit them. In addition, an
empathetic leader helps in keeping the team together.
Ability To Ask Open-Ended Questions
Effective leaders push their team members to do their best, and in that process, they
encourage them to ask open-ended questions. It helps in developing a great bond between team members and their leader. In addition, it helps leaders understand their
employees’ motivation, thoughts, and goals better.
Receiving And Implementing Feedback
Feedback helps leaders work on themselves; therefore, an effective leader doesn’t just
listen to feedback but also implements it. They also provide constant feedback to their
team members to improve their efficiency and productivity. This is one of the must-have
skills besides possessing effective communication skills for leadership.
Transparency
Transparency plays a crucial role in breaking down the communication barrier between
leaders and their teams. It is believed that many managers and executives hardly know
anything about their organization. As a result, they are unaware of the organization’s
policies and goals, which leads to low efficiency and productivity. By speaking openly
about the company’s goals, a leader builds trust between employees and themselves.
Body Language
Possessing communication skills for effective leadership is not limited to words; non-
verbal action behavior also plays an important role. It is believed that non-verbal cues
are an important part of effective communication skills. Therefore, a leader must work
on their body language and non-verbal cues while interacting with employees to ensure
that their message is rightly conveyed to the team members.
Further in this article, we will discuss the role of communication in leadership and delve
deep into different types of leadership courses that can help aspiring leaders learn
effective communication skills.
What Is The Role Of Communication In Leadership?
For ages, leaders have been motivators who have encouraged others to work on
themselves and achieve their goals. This ability of great leaders results from the
effective communication skills they possess. It is believed that effective communication
is linked to great leadership skills and that many successful leaders like Abraham
Lincoln have been strong communicators. Therefore, effective communication skills are
a prerequisite to becoming a successful leader. So, what is the role of communication in
leadership?
Communication skills help leaders to define the goals of team members clearly. It also
helps understand team members’ goals and desires and solve their grievances.
Effective communication skills also help foster an open and good rapport between
leaders and their teams, which increases productivity and efficiency. Therefore, it is
clear that effective communication skills play an important role in leadership.