You’ve probably realized the importance of good communication within your close relationships (friends, family, spouse, etc.), but have you ever stopped to ponder the importance of creating a culture of open communication within your organization?
Think about it:
A workplace designed to encourage and support open communication amongst all team members (supervisors and employees alike) will naturally result in:
- Happier and more satisfied team members
- More productive work sessions
- Greater levels of innovation
On the flip side, when your team members do not feel the freedom to share their thoughts and ideas or share constructive feedback, your organization may struggle with low team morale, unproductive work time, and potentially poor employee retention. And then there are the costs associated with each of these.
After all, who wants to stay working in an environment where their thoughts and ideas aren’t welcomed or appreciated? Not me.
Alright, now that we’ve established the importance of a culture of open communication in the workplace, let’s dig into the real question at hand:
HOW do you, as a leader, build an organizational environment that encourages open communication?
Here are a few key strategies to get you started:
- Be the example:
It may sound obvious, but the power of modeling is often underestimated. You as the leader, set the tone for your group. They will follow your lead. This means that you need to be intentional about personally implementing good communication strategies and being an example both of how to give feedback in a constructive way and how to receive feedback well (especially when it involves criticism).
In my blog post, 5 Keys to Effective Communication, I offer some tips for how you can personally improve your communication technique. I encourage you (if you haven’t already) to read this post and start brushing up on your skills.
- Provide strategic opportunities for team members to communicate:
Don’t expect communication between team members always to happen organically (especially if you are just beginning to establish “open communication” as the organizational norm.) Sometimes, you need to provide a structured way for team members to communicate with each other and with you.
Here are a few examples:
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- Create norms and expectations and then train and orient on them.
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- Find coaches or staff with strong communication skills to mentor and model for others that need support.
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- Send out quarterly digital feedback forms (these can be anonymous if needed) about how the organization as a whole is doing with communication. Share and discuss the results.
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- Provide reflective feedback questions before meetings so all members can come prepared to share.
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- Assign partners or small groups for sharing during meetings.
Facilitate relationship building:
Alright, be honest with me…do you feel comfortable sharing honest feedback with people you barely know? Probably not. It can be daunting and uncomfortable to share openly if you don’t have the foundation of a solid relationship.
With this knowledge in mind, provide opportunities for your team to get to know one another and to form open and more trusting relationships. Offering small group opportunities during meetings, team retreats, or simple ice breaker questions or games, can be simple ways to develop positive relationships within your organization.
How is communication in YOUR organization? Is this new to you? Perhaps you’ve been working on building a culture of communication for a while, but you aren’t sure how to take it to the next level? I can help.
If your communication isn’t getting the results you’d hope for, click here to schedule a FREE strategy call with me. Together we can unpack your strategy and discuss opportunities for improvement.
Article was contributed by: Maria Lees, Team Writer with Sarah Boxx
