Effective communication is crucial in achieving successful outcomes at work, whatever the industry may be. Conflicts arise, employees become dissatisfied, and organizational goals aren’t met because effective communication isn’t always observed. This webinar provides guidelines to communicate better as leaders to build cooperation within teams and create improved outcomes for the organization.
This session’s resource speaker is Ed Sherman. He has 40 years of experience in public safety having served as a law enforcement officer, firefighter, and paramedic. He is currently an organizational consultant, executive coach, and leadership development specialist providing coaching and training services and solutions for staff, leaders, and organizations.
Points he tackled in his discussion include:
- How leaders can learn communication and management skills from others and the importance of evaluating its effectiveness.
- The importance of getting leaders to seek input from staff and building a culture where people feel safe to voice out concerns.
- Avoiding falling into the “weak leader trap,” where leaders may avoid seeking input from employees out of fear of appearing weak.
- How being receptive to problem-solving with others is a sign of a strong leader who can build rapport and trust with the team.
- The value in establishing a genuine open-door policy where leaders are reasonably available to listen to staff concerns.
- How the concept of MBWA and deliberately making time to build rapport, check-in, and interact with employees is a proactive problem-solving and crisis management approach.
- Acknowledging that some of these proactive communication strategies may not be applicable or ideal in crisis situations – reinforcing the need to do it at the front end.
- How the inability to seek input from staff puts leaders at the risk of flying blind.
- The value of listening skills to facilitate communication effectiveness and rapport building by…
- Allowing the other person to share their viewpoint first without interrupting or thinking about what to reply.
- Consistently being aware of your thoughts when the other person is speaking.
- Summarizing and clarifying to communicate a genuine desire to understand them.
- Tips to navigate difficult conversations as a leader by:
- Leaning into the discomfort and not letting it put the communication off-course.
- Letting others tell their story and genuinely considering their perspective.
- Being open to suggestions and solutions that staff are typically willing to come up with.
- Assessing others’ willingness to change and recognizing how this influences the effectiveness of the proposed change.
- Moving away from rating perspective and instead focusing on solutions towards a goal.
- Remembering that while employee input is genuinely considered, the leader ultimately maintains authority and decision-making ability on what is deemed as the best solution to implement.
- The power of quiet listening and asking versus telling in communicating that leaders take staff concerns into account and value their input.
Questions from the webinar attendees are about:
- Conducting check-ins in remote workplaces.
- Communicating with neuro-divergent individuals and people with unique needs.
- Resources on having difficult conversations.
- How to convey to staff that their some ideas while welcome, are not always workable.
- Communicating with someone who knows it all or thinks that they do.
Other Webinars with this Presenter
- March 16: Achieving Effective Outcomes through Staff Communications (this webinar)
- June 8: Be the Leader You Wish You Had
Resources and Handouts
- Handout: Key Points Handout
- Book Referenced: Humble Inquiry – The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling by Edgar Schein
- Book Referenced: Difficult Conversations – How to Discuss What Matters Most by Stone, Patton and Heen
Audience Comments
- “I really appreciated the language and wording used around this topic. It was very timely and in line with Trust Based Relational Intervention strategies that we have been working to implement with our probation clients – and staff. Dr. Sherman was a great resource and I would like to hear from him in future webinars.” — Leah
- “Dr. Sherman spoke in simple terms that I could relate to (or everyone). I speak to offenders who have been arrested due to drunk driving and to get them to understand the importance of not repeating themselves and keeping their attention, I will now have more interaction with them. Also helpful, was to confirm that my director does ask if I need anything or how he can help. I work remotely and my director works remotely in a different state, but always says he’s available by phone if something comes up.” — Sue
- “The depth of knowledge and enthusiasm was welcoming and much needed for this topic. AWESOME!!!” — Vivian
- “Very interesting and eye-opening on how we communicate or how we think we are communicating. Gave me great ideas on how to interact with my staff.” — Jeri
- “Real-life illustrations used in conjunction with the material.” — Sandra
- “Tips and best practices encouraging me to actually try it.” — Sandy
- “This webinar reinforced and was a good refresher for some communication things that I have learned in the past. It was all good stuff.” — Steven
- “I really loved the statement ” If you don’t have time for your people, you may need to make time for problems.” This really resonated with me and is something that I will remember if and when I am in a supervisor position.” — Elise
- “Dr. Sherman’s presentation style is very easy and relaxing. He broke things down in a wonderful way, chunking things and giving very practical advice. I like that he addressed people who have shorter attention spans and who are Neuro Divergent.” — Marie
- “The speaker was engaging, succinct, and knows his topic well. Although I use a lot of his techniques, it was a nice refresher.” — Michael
- “He gave actual steps on how to speak with people. Some of the presenters lately talk “above” the action without giving specifics on HOW to do the thing. I hope you have Ed in your mix for another webinar!” — Nicole
