Communicating effectively is an important part of being a successful business leader. It’s common for an employee to be promoted to an executive-level position with communication skills that need improvement, typically because they’ve never learned the skills that their new role requires. Training the new business leader in communication skills becomes necessary in order for them to succeed in their position.
During their leadership training, the executive will master the art of communication and work with their coaches to refine the following skills:
1. Listening
While this seems like an obvious skill to possess, the truth is that many people lack listening skills. Rather than being engaged in a conversation and really hearing what the other person is saying, a lot of times we think about what we’re going to say next. This prevents people from hearing others’ ideas that could be significant.
Arden coaches will encourage executives to listen at a deeper level rather than only listening for information. Through this deeper level of listening, you’ll be able to understand the perspectives of other people as well as gain insight to how they think.
Executive coaches will encourage executives to ask open-ended questions to other people and to be curious about someone else’s perspective. When you ask someone a close-ended question, they’ll say yes or no, and the conversation will be over. But by leaving the question open ended, the individual will elaborate on their thoughts and prompt deeper thinking.
2. Influence
In order for a business executive to be an effective leader, they must have a strong influence on others and be able to move people to take action or change their way of thinking. Working in leadership makes it necessary for you to persuade people, so having that tool is essential.
One way that executives can be persuasive is by understanding the other person’s point of view and then speaking to them in the same language.
3. Respect
One major communication skill is having respect for someone else’s point of view. And when addressing that point of view, you can disagree without objecting. There’s a way to communicate and certain words to use to demonstrate that you respect the person’s thoughts without being rude or offensive.
4. Resolving Conflict
In business, conflict will always arise, so it’s paramount that an executive is equipped with the skills to handle them. Disagreement is essential to a healthy, thriving business and allows employees to get all of their ideas heard. The problem occurs when the executive is too overbearing and intimidating that employees will not speak up for fear of what will happen if they do.
If you believe the leaders of your business could benefit from communication skills training, Arden Coaching can help. Click here to set up a consultation and find out all that Arden has to offer you and your business.
