Good leaders are good communicators. In order to build a team with a shared vision that works in a collaborative fashion, leaders must be great communicators. Three elements of communication are essential for leaders – clarity, candor, and connection.

Clarity – leaders must communicate consistently and clearly.

• Be proactive, people left in the dark wander from the vision and waste energy speculating.
• Understand the purpose of every communication, define the objective.
• Make it simple and concise, understandable to the audience and focused on the objective, communicate specifics not ambiguity.
• It’s not just the “what” but also the “how” of communicating, appropriate to the purpose, with authority.

Candor – leaders need to be trusted to be followed.

• Speak the truth, transparency builds trust.
• Be honest and authentic, communicate from the heart.
• Admit mistakes; people don’t relate to those pretending to be perfect, they relate to those that are human and humble.
• Be willing to embrace the negative, both to admit it and to hear it.

Connection – communication is more than speaking and writing, leaders need to know and relate to their audience.

• Communication includes listening to understand and perceiving emotions and attitudes.
• In individual communication, read body language.
• Speak to the concerns of the listener, know the context.
• Promote two-way communication, solicit feedback.

Leadership is defined as influence; influence is based on relationship. This relationship is built on trust and transparency. This trust and transparency can only be achieved with open, clear, and consistent communications. Constituents need to be a part of the team. Without good communications there is likely to be either confusion or suspicion, depleting or deflecting the energy of the organization and interfering with teamwork and collaboration.

How well are you communicating? What is holding you back?