The Mindsets of a Great Communicator
The ability to communicate is arguably the most important trait of leaders. Communicate to provide direction, to inspire action, to persuade, to develop your team, to gain buy-in, and to drive organizational change. The ability to communicate separates mediocre leaders from great ones.
Consider two leaders. The first one, let’s call him Tom, is a visionary who always develops ideas that keep him and his company ahead of the competition. His communication tends to consist of bold one-way announcements characterized by a heavy dose of “I” when discussing “his” company’s strategy, plans, and goals.
On the other hand, Mike has great ideas, but he is known as a “people leader” who connects and engages his team. He is highly collaborative, uses “we” in place of “I”, and lauds his team for wins while accepting blame when they fall short of goals and other key metrics.
While both leaders can be huge assets to their organizations, Mike has the greater ability to amplify his impact through engaging and empowering communication. The point isn’t to debate which leader is better, but to highlight how communication can enable great leaders.
Caveat: When we say great communicator, we are not talking about a great orator who can command a stage and captivate an audience. What we mean is a leader who can connect with their tribe and create engagement with each person on the team. While the mindsets we discuss below will surely help you in becoming a better public speaker, what we are talking about here is communication in the context of building stronger relationships, fostering stronger team dynamics, and deepening engagement with team members.
Becoming a Great Communicator: How to Get Started
When leaders start down the path to becoming a better communicator, the natural tendency is to jump right into the observable skillsets of communication. Skills such as projecting vision, using storytelling to connect, mastering pauses and gestures, and developing executive presence.
Those are all key skills to master, sure. But great leaders are built from the inside out and becoming a great communicator starts by developing the right mindsets – communication mindsets. Then, we can move on to the skillsets of communication. Without an understanding and adoption of the communication mindsets, leaders tend to fall short in becoming an authentic and impactful communicator as the mindsets lay the foundation for the application of the skillsets. And that’s precisely the path we follow in our work coaching leaders to become great communicators with their teams, across their organization, and externally with customers, partners, suppliers, and investors.
Below is an overview of the communication mindsets that will support you on the path to becoming a great communicator.
THE FIVE COMMUNICATION MINDSETS
Most books and courses jump directly to communication skillsets, but becoming a great communicator starts by first understanding and then adopting the following communication mindsets. Put in the time and effort to implement these mindsets and watch as your ability to communicate blossoms. It will take time, effort, and introspection, but it will support your ability to communication with impact.
Communication Mindset #1 - Humility
Becoming a great communicator starts with a sense of humility. Humility that you don’t have all of the answers. Humility to accept and acknowledge that other people have knowledge, insight, and perspective that is of value – to the team, to the organization, and even to you. The most successful leaders are humble enough to recognize that all members of their organization, including frontline employees, have valuable insights and perspectives. Insight into customer pain points, emerging competitors, process inefficiencies, and cultural contradictions. They also apply a sense of humility in communicating at all levels of their organization. Humility changes the way they show up for their team in one-on-one coaching conversations, in team meetings, and in ad hoc conversations in stressful moments. Humility allows them to be better and more active listeners, to ask questions that create awareness to new possibilities, and to adapt their style to the audience – all key communication skill sets. Prior to an upcoming meeting, ask yourself, “What insight or experience can my team member provide to address this current issue?” or “What is one thing I would like to learn in this conversation?” Doing so will foster a greater sense of humility and support more effective developmental conversations and collaborative meetings.
Communication Mindset #2 - Curiosity
Curiosity is another mindset required for effective and impactful communication. Curiosity is often discussed in the context of creating a more innovative and agile enterprise. Curiosity to seek out contrarian opinions, alternative perspectives, and varied approaches to solve problems. Being curious will also help you become a better communicator and more effectively engage your team. Practicing curiosity requires a level of humility as described above and involves a genuine interest in team members’ backgrounds, experiences, and expertise as well as their perspectives and opinions. Greater curiosity will enable you to practice the other communication mindsets and support active listening and asking powerful, awareness-generating questions. Before an upcoming meeting, try asking yourself questions such as, “How does his or her experience and background influence the way they think about this situation?”, “What did they mean when they said…?”, or “What did he or she learn during their stint in the military?” to help boost your natural curiosity.
Communication Mindset #3 - Empathy
Empathy is another mindset that most people don’t typically associate with being a great communicator. Growing up, I became aware of the importance of empathy when my mom would remind me to “stick up for the underdog.” While her point was to do the right thing and look out for those getting picked on (what we now call bullying), it also taught me to put myself in other peoples’ shoes and think about situations from their perspectives. Empathy and “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes” will also help in communication. Great communicators have empathy for what other people might be going through in the moment, but also to appreciate their unique experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. Empathy will help you become a better listener and also tailor your communication style to reflect other peoples’ current situation as well as their unique experiences and background. To practice greater empathy, try asking yourself, “How might this new initiative impact their day-to-day job responsibilities and preferred work style?” or “How might they perceive this change in leadership?”
Communication Mindset #4 - Outward Focus
Another mindset of great communicators is having an outward focus. What I mean is that great communicators are unselfish and focus on the agenda of the other person; what they are trying to achieve, what they need in the moment, and how you might be of service to that person. Consider two people you might meet at a party. The first goes on and on about himself; his accomplishments, his dreams, his aspirations. The second person, on the other hand, asks about your interests, concerns, and goals. Which one creates greater connection and engagement? The same approach applies in a work context. Great communicators focus on the other person’s agenda. It really is (or should be) about them, not you. Try this out before your next meeting with one of your team members. Remind yourself to put your agenda to the side and ask yourself, “What is one outcome I would like to help my team member achieve from this conversation?”
Communication Mindset #5 - Willingness to Put in the Work
The last mindset is the willingness to put in the work. Being a great communicator takes effort. Active listening and asking broad, awareness creating questions requires intention and effort. Without it, you’ll tend to take an inward focus that lacks humility, curiosity, and empathy. Like becoming a great leader, you must be willing to put in the hard work to become a better communicator. Remind yourself that the quickest approach to working with team members, using a command and control approach, is not always the best approach. While you may get the result you seek in the very short run, you will fail to engage, empower, inspire, and develop your team members – all of which is critical for long-term success. The best communicators put in the work to have conversations that connect, engage, empower, inspire, and develop.
The path to becoming a great communicator starts with a focus on a series of mindsets. The mindsets by themselves will improve your communication and will turbo charge it when you use them as the foundation to develop key communication skills – being present, active listening, asking powerful questions, tailoring your communication style to the recipient, and developing executive presence.
Now, it’s time to put this into practice. Remember, it takes time and effort, but the payoff is better relationships, stronger team dynamics, and deeper engagement with your team.
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