The Busy Leader's Handbook

6Be a Good Communicator

Great leaders are almost always great communicators. They have to be. Leaders must not only share information with many groups—employees, managers, customers, investors—but deliver it in a way that motivates people to act. That means knowing how to communicate in such a way that each audience truly “hears” the message, is inspired by it, and is willing to work hard toward common goals. This is a real art form.

Great communication is not just about people understanding what you are trying to say. It’s also about how they react to it and how they feel about you afterward. You want people not just to hear what you say but also engage emotionally with it. When they take your messages to heart and move enthusiastically toward the goals you’ve set for them, you know you’ve been successful.

Being a great communicator is more important than it has ever been. For one thing, the world is noisier than ever before. It’s hard to get people’s attention. It’s the digital age, so messages fly at people from all directions. Leaders need to be able to break through the chaos and say what they need to say in a way that will truly be heard and paid attention to.

As work environments are extremely complex and overflowing with information, part of being a good leader is managing the flow. Leaders need to be able to make sense of all this information and manage it in a way that gets everyone aligned and on the same page, keeps teams from getting siloed, and keeps everyone ...