The Mental Strategies of Top Traders: The Psychological Determinants of Trading Success

6.4. THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION

Building a team is a matter of building relationships, and the key to doing this is communication. Good communication consists not only of the verbal guidance given to team members. It also considers the impact of the words you decide to use to motivate others, the correct timing of advice, criticism, and encouragement, and the proper mixture of support during the review process to ensure that there is always a positive message and that people are not turned off or too focused on the negative. It also includes body language and facial gestures and knowing when to stay quiet as well as when to speak.

While it may take time for people to change their basic, underlying approach to interpersonal relationships, there is value in getting everyone on the same page in terms of shared concepts, a common set of distinctions, and greater consciousness about opening up dialogues throughout the firm. As mentioned earlier, some of this takes a certain degree of patience in listening to others to try to understand not only what they are saying but also what they mean by what they say. It means trying to decipher what concerns they have and not jumping to conclusions solely based on your own limited experience.

But to successfully communicate you must also maintain the confidence of your team members and take into consideration how to best align their emotional interests with the goals of the organization. You have to be clear about requests and commitments ...