What do you do if your leadership team lacks effective communication skills?

The first step in addressing communication challenges within my leadership team is to assess the current skill levels. Conducting a thorough evaluation of each team member's communication strengths and weaknesses can provide valuable insights into areas that need improvement. For example, I may find that some team members excel in written communication but struggle with verbal communication, while others may have difficulty conveying complex ideas clearly. By identifying these areas of improvement, I can tailor my approach to effectively address specific needs.

This actually happened to me, when I joined Google in 2011 as a senior manager I had to lead an excellent team with incredible virtues, but clearly lacking effective communication skills. That needed to be fixed so I looked for a solution...

Leadership team lacking effective communication skills is a contradiction in terms! Learning great communication skills starts with consciously exposing yourself to the kind of criticism that is hard to find in your everyday (work) experience, agreeing to hear things that your closest of friends wouldn't tell you...for good reasons.

If my leadership team lacked certain skills, the first step I'd take is to thoroughly assess the situation, identifying any gaps in their skill set. From there, I'd determine the best approach to address these deficiencies, whether it's through group training sessions or individual coaching. My goal would be to provide them with the support and resources they need to enhance their skills and excel in their roles. It's crucial to maintain a positive and encouraging atmosphere throughout this process, letting them know that I'm their biggest supporter and that we're in this together as a team. By fostering a culture of continuous growth and development, we can overcome any challenges and move forward successfully.

Clients are not always great leaders. Consultants should embrace these moments as opportunities to provide additional value. One of the most impactful strategies I have deployed to help leaders that might be communicating poorly is to steer focus toward a short-term objective that they can impact with something as simple as the approval of an action plan. Sometimes, a leader just needs to be reminded of how great it feels to accomplish goals by deploying the skills of their teammates.

Once I have assessed the communication skills of my leadership team, it is essential to set clear and achievable goals for improvement. These goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound to ensure accountability and track progress effectively. For instance, I set a goal for team members to actively participate in team meetings by sharing their ideas and perspectives. By setting concrete goals, I provide a roadmap for improvement and motivate team members to enhance their communication skills.

Internal meetings were plagued with devices and people were dedicating minimal attention to what was being presented and discussed. Customer presentations delivered in different venues where totally unsatisfactory from a communication point of view. We needed to upgrade both internal meetings and external presentations if we were to deliver the results Google was expecting from us and customers were expecting from Google

SMART goals make this "transformation" experience a lot more rewarding, hence, become effective motivators in their own right. Address your skill gaps one by one, once you have put enough effort into understanding what is missing from the bigger picture and how it correlates with all the other ingredients.

Start rethinking about how the relations matter with the team. How will it impact the quality of work, and if you find out the fundamental is communication.

Public Speaking workshops can actually be enjoyable! I run a session called Lead with Your Voice, helping leaders literally set the tone of their team, and even people who hate public speaking get up by the end!

Investing in training and development opportunities is a valuable strategy for improving communication within my leadership team. Consider offering workshops, seminars, or coaching sessions focused on enhancing communication skills, such as active listening, conflict resolution, or effective feedback delivery. For example, I arranged for a communication expert to conduct a workshop on effective communication techniques tailored to the specific needs of My leadership team. Providing training options demonstrates my commitment to supporting team members' communication development.

For the first time ever in Google EUHQ I procured special training from outside the company, across all levels and in a language different than English. I brought a professional public speaking coach to deliver a three day training to the entire team. We also completely changed the dynamics of our internal meetings by cancelling all devices, except for the one being used for the presentation, and focusing on business dicussions and F2F interactions...

The most effective training route by far requires optimum conditions for blunt, brutally honest, sometimes even exaggerated feedback, which would often be inappropriate in a team setting or a group-training formula. Start with an in-depth one-to-one diagnosis and proceed to a prioritized training plan, with one thing leading to the other.

There are so many training options. The key is ensuring the participants are doing and having a trainer who can respond to individual needs while also working within the group dynamic. I work with corporate clients to create packages of training that are tailored to achieve desired goals, taking onto account the current skill levels of the participants and the ultimate goal. My preference is to deliver two sessions some weeks apart allowing participants to have had time to reflect on the daily application of skills explored in the first session. Perfect world is where there are a number of follow-up sessions at which teams get to normalise the act of ‘holding a conversation with a group’ - (the skill formerly known as ‘public speaking!’)

Improving communication skills requires consistent practice and reinforcement. I encourage my leadership team to engage in regular communication exercises, such as role-playing scenarios, team-building activities, or collaborative projects that emphasizeemphasizing effective communication. For instance, I organize weekly team meetings to practice active listening skills or conduct mock presentations to enhance my public speaking abilities. By incorporating regular practice sessions into my team's routine, I create continuous improvement and skill development opportunities.

There's no improvement without practice. It's really as simple as that. Even the most talented speakers out there never underestimate the importance of preparation and risk-management drills.

Establishing a feedback loop is essential for monitoring progress and providing constructive feedback to my leadership team. I encourage open communication channels where team members can share their thoughts, concerns, and suggestions for improving communication practices. For example, I have implemented a feedback mechanism after team meetings to gather input on communication effectiveness and identify areas for improvement. By fostering a feedback and continuous improvement culture, I create a supportive environment for developing strong communication skills within my leadership team.

Be courageous, share constructive criticism and prioritize the top 1-2 concerns. DO NOT give a laundry list. Consider the specific issue, clear examples on how it affects your work, and specific requests for change. In your discussion, investigate explore with leadership if there is an opportunity to integrate within a communications strategy that can help the entire team. Often times if it's one person that has an issue, there are others that are having the same issue. Sell the leadership on how these solutions create a more productive or positive environment and after it's all said, practice patience. THEN, be selective for further criticism and provide positive reinforcement when you can. Don't forget you leaders need training too!

If your leadership team lacks effective communication skills, lead by example and over-communicate! Most people don't like the idea of talking too much or appearing as over-bearing, but the truth is taking the initiative to communicate can be incredibly helpful--especially in team settings. This skill shines best when time and setting both align! One way to do this via email is by re-summarizing crucial details in a message and cc'ing all relevant parties. It's better to have someone ask you to remove them from the chain, than to have them reach out inquiring about why they weren't included. If your team has unanswered questions or important timelines try adding these in bold to emphasize the importance of having these issues addressed.

When faced with a leadership team lacking in effective communication skills, leading by example becomes paramount. Demonstrate clear and transparent communication practices consistently in your own interactions. Encourage leaders to observe and emulate these behaviors, highlighting the impact of effective communication on team morale and productivity. Foster a culture where leaders actively seek feedback and adapt their communication style accordingly. Through authentic and consistent modeling of effective communication, leaders can inspire their teams to prioritize clarity, empathy, and collaboration in all their interactions.

If leadership is having difficulty in keeping it's employees abreast of important information, there is a deficiency in the system that may or may not be acknowledged by the leadership. If the leadership team can acknowledge the deficiency and is also willing and able to empower you, explore ways to expand your role to fill that missing need in the organization. No one knows what you and your cohorts need better than YOU. Be the change you want to see. A word of caution though, please remember that willing and able is a prerequisite to your efforts to be recognized and successful. Unwanted help may unfortunately produce resentment.

The results were astonishing. In less than one year we doubled turnover in our market and customer segment. Much of it was due to improved communication skills developed by the team, both internally and externally