Last week I mentioned the global study on which Marshall Goldsmith identified the 15 most important competencies for leaders. These 15 competencies are divided into 5 groups of each 3 competencies. The first group is one that I have mentioned a few times before: communication.
It might be a bit of my pet subject, as I come across many cases where communication is causing issues. If I had to name only one topic that causes Alliances and Partnerships to fail, then it would definitely be communication – or lack thereof. So, I am happy that a wise man like Marshall puts communication as the first group of competencies in his list of leadership competencies.
Communication is about many things: demonstrating integrity, role modeling to your team, organization and partner honesty, ethical behavior and organizational values. It is about trust and respect. Communication is about encouraging a constructive dialogue by asking questions to solicit feedback, feedforward and new ideas. It is also about creating a shared vision by getting input from others. It is about creating momentum and inspiring others.
As you can see there are many aspects to communication. It is simple, but not easy!
How are you doing on communication as part of your leadership competencies?