Team leaders and team members today benefit when they have had a chance to think about where their communication skills can be strengthened. In my work as a team developer, I find many teams struggle with listening and asking questions. Asking questions to help move issues forward, rather than prove a point, or put someone on the spot.
This week I would encourage you to notice how you are listening. Are you spending time in your communications (big and small) listening to the tone, and how people are speaking. Are you noticing what is being left unsaid? Are you listening for the assumptions which may be being made (and may be incorrect)?
A major challenge in moving to more communication in the virtual realm is that we often default all communication to email– big issues, important issues, small issues and trivial ones. When we communicate by email and digitally, the nuances of communication are lost. We can’t hear the pace or pitch at which something was said? We can’t ask a question right away. We can’t check if one of our assumptions is right. Even communication by phone (rather than streaming video) makes communication harder. We lose the signals which occur through body language.
As you think about communication around issues which are very important for you, and the team, what channels are the best to communicate around? What do you want to be listening for? What isn’t being said?
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Join us in February 2018 to explore the topic of Emotional Intelligence at the Teams365 Leadership Lab - an annual group for leaders which meets every two weeks throughout 2018. We'll be exploring topics like Emotional Intelligence, Team Management, Coaching Skills. We'll be kicking off on January 26th at 845 am ET online. Download the call schedule here.