Keith Rosen's Executive Sales Coaching Blog on Selling, Leadership, Management

The Best Managers Are Fully Accountable For Their Communication

Sep 2, 2006 Business Advice, Business Coaching, Clients are fun. Case Studies in Sales and Leaders..., Communication, Executive Coaching, How to Manage Your Team, Leadership Academy, Sales Management

Highly Effective Leaders Are Fully Accountable For Their Communication

More than 65% of all problems or breakdowns that exist among people and within businesses occur as a result of faulty communication. The very thing that occupies approximately 70% of our waking hours is the very thing we have difficulty with the most.

Most of us were never taught how to communicate in a way that produces consistent results, so we continue to experience frustration, resistance, conflicts, or breakdowns. Although the style of communication varies from each leader, (high powered, humorous, low- key, etc.) a great leader is fully accountable not only for the message they deliver but for the way they are being heard. Enhancing your communication requires taking full responsibility for the outcome of each conversation; not only for what you are saying but for the message the other person is hearing. (I.e., Speaking in their “language”/communication style.)
Tip From The Coach: To strengthen your communication, ask yourself the following questions:

Am I taking full responsibility for the message being heard by the other person? (Remember that it doesn’t matter what you say, it only matters what the other person hears.)

Did I respect the other person’s point of view or did I have a reaction (disagreement) to what they were saying that prevented me from listening to their full message?

If I was asking someone to take a specific action (delegating), did I make my request clear & check to see if the conversation worked/was successful? (Did I receive feedback to ensure that I was understood?)

Did I receive value from the conversation? (Did I allow the other person to contribute to me?)

If the outcome of the conversation did not meet my expectations, what did I learn that would enable me to better communicate with that person? (Did I open up a new and greater possibility that I didn’t notice before?)

Did I give the person the gift of my listening?

When delegating a task or having a conversation, was I cognizant of the common sense trap?

It is not the other person’s responsibility to understand what it is you are saying. It is your job to be understood.

Highly effective leaders are fully accountable not only for the message they deliver but for the message the other person is hearing. Producing greater, long-term results without conflicts or breakdowns requires taking full responsibility for the outcome of each conversation.