Etech’s 12 Character Commitments: Part – 5
Over 12 years ago we made the decision to implement a new philosophy on leadership that supports our vision to make a remarkable difference for each other, our customers, and within our communities. Our goal was to inspire Etech’s leadership team to embrace the challenge to conform our company to a servant-led organization. The pillars of Etech’s servant leadership culture are our 12 leadership commitments.
Those commitments are:
- Being a positive influence
- Valuing others
- Leading with integrity
- Leading with humility
- Leading with courage
- Being a team player
- Communicating well
- Holding yourself and others accountable
- Adapting to change
- Being a lifelong learner
- Being creative
- Embracing, living, and casting our vision
In this article, I am going to cover the importance of communication for effective leadership and its impact on your team. I encourage each of you to read, embrace, and self-evaluate. I would be honored to hear your thoughts or feedback.
Why Effective Leadership Starts with Communication?
Today I will address Communication. At Etech we have embraced being a great communicator as one of our character commitments. Many leaders underestimate the value of 2-way communication. It is just as valuable, or even more valuable, to listen as it is to be heard. Below are some tips to help you on your journey to becoming an even better communicator.
Establish, document, and discuss clear expectations and goals
Effective leaders ensure that each team member knows what is expected, what good behavior looks like, and why “what they do” is important. They tie the individual’s contributions to the company’s vision. Everyone wants to be a part of something that is bigger than just themselves! Our vision? To make a remarkable difference for our people, our customers, and within our communities.
Maintain open, active, and consistent communication
This is critical, people want to be informed. They want to know how they are doing, how Etech is doing, and what can be done better. Effective communication includes being an active listener. Everyone likes to believe that their input matters.
A final comment on communication – don’t restrict effective communication to just your team but demonstrate this behavior with your customers, suppliers, and your leader. Remember – customers and suppliers are both external and internal.
- Pay attention to what others are saying and not saying and probe a bit deeper.
- Be fully present. Make great eye contact, take notes, and ask clarifying questions. Don’t look at your phone, your watch, or your emails!
- Understand how others are feeling and then acknowledge those feelings. Paraphrase what you think is being shared back into the conversation.
- Assure others that you are remembering what is being said by summarizing & repeating back key points and messages from the conversation, as well as areas of agreement or disagreement.
- Conclude the conversation with encouragement and a plan of action as needed.
- Be Concise. 100 well-spoken and direct words are far more effective than 1,000 words that never get below the surface.
I hope this gives you some ideas to contemplate!
Until next time, may you continue to make a difference in the lives of the people you touch each day.
