Today, many organizations sink into chaos. The reason is ineffective leadership in terms of communication. Leadership isn’t easy, but unclear, vague, and uncertain pronouncements might make the jobs of top managers more complicated than they actually are.
Generally, leaders make many cliche declarations like, ‘let’s focus on key priorities’, ‘consumers are our primary concern’, and so on. Over and over again, they present such grand and fuzzy declarations to show where the company is heading. Moreover, leaders often think everyone shares the exact definition of broad terms like teamwork, loyalty, accountability, vision, etc. But it is not so!
Even the senior managers nod politely when their boss uses such inflated terms. But managers might wonder whether they have really understood what the boss has said or not. Thus, rather than seeking clarification (for they have a fear of looking stupid or incompetent), they pass vague marching orders to their team, all of whom develop their own understanding of what the team leader has said.
So, in the absence of clear communication, things are bound to go haywire. As a result, the behavior of the leaders also often becomes sloppy, which can hinder the company’s objectives.
In such scenarios, if we accept that a leader’s job is to inspire and support the organization and create a better work environment, then the company can definitely prosper and expand to a great extent. This is an essential part of leadership training.
Now, talking about the five important messages for effective leadership, one must first know who gave them and what they are all about.
So, John Hamm emphasizes on the fact that the leaders must manage these five topics to control the company’s processes that lead to short-term and long-term goal accomplishment. The five topics include:
- Organizational structure & hierarchy
- The leader’s sense of their job
- Financial results
- Corporate culture
- Time management
Messages on these subjects have extraordinary influence within the firm. Thus, to inspire greatness and enhance employee productivity, let’s discuss each point in detail.
Top messages that leaders must manage
Leadership is an essential part of corporate training, which includes how leaders function, manage organizational messages, and maintain an encouraging work environment.
Besides this, leadership also includes crystal clear communication, for which John Hamm recommends working on the following topics.
Organizational Structure & Hierarchy
The organizational chart represents individual power and influence. Basically, it is an emotionally-driven framework followed by the company during its stable times. But when the corporate structure changes, the organizational chart can look fearsome, specifically in companies where employees worry about risking their job & personal status.
Thus, leaders who quickly take charge of communication can prevent the discourse from engendering fear. So, the most efficient way for a leader to think about the organizational structure is as an adaptable map for action. This will result in defining the goals, optimizing resources, and recognizing the efforts of the employees in the company. This way, the change taking place in the organizational structure & hierarchy will be well-accepted and lead to favorable outcomes.
Financial Results
Financial results are another powerful concept. When left ignored and unmanaged, it can pose a risk to the company’s long-term health & growth. For instance, when an executive tells employees to focus on achieving desirable results, it literally means ‘do whatever it takes to satisfy the client’s demands’. If the employees fail to take advantage of learning opportunities, the companies might miss out on building long-term value for the firms.
In the long run, consistently positive results spring from intelligent approaches and an incessant focus on execution quality. Effective leaders understand that it is best to use quarterly results as a metric for the company’s development instead of worrying about short-term market wins.
By using financial results to improve future execution, effective leaders encourage honesty and encourage their teams to communicate openly with one another. Thus, employees who generate good ideas are more likely to surpass financial expectations every quarter.
A Leader’s Sense of Their Job
A leader plays numerous roles in the organization and is surrounded by employees who keenly seek their feedback and approval for specific tasks. Because of this, many leaders feel that they are the only person who must have all the answers. As a result, they falsely believe themselves as arbiters/ judges of dilemmas, conflicts, and decisions. Unfortunately, this puts the leader in an isolated position where the input is restrained, and information becomes unreliable.
On the other hand, effective leaders understand that their role is to bring out the best in others. They do this very clearly by seeking contributions, collaborations, and challenges. Thus, by using their positional power, they drive the decision-making process in the company. The more apolitical and collaborative the process is, the lesser the leader feels isolated, leading to making wise business strategies grounded in reality.
Time Management
Every leader feels that time is in short supply. The organizers, administrative assistants, and others remind us of the time we lack or don’t have. Fearful about meeting deadlines, the leaders struggle against constraints by trying to control and manipulate the limited hours they have in a day. Unfortunately, this can prevent the company from achieving its targets.
So, leaders can be effective if they communicate to the company that the time resource must be managed and utilized effectively. A leader who harps on time constraints and pressurizes the employees to do the work before time can make the organization frantic and ineffective.
On the other hand, if a leader tells his team to do fewer things on priority as the time is tight, it gives employees the confidence to make the best use of this precious resource, i.e., time. This way, everyone can complete their work within the time parameters to do what needs to be done.
Corporate Culture
In this, the leaders must consider why clear communication and optimistic workplace culture are necessary. Moreover, they must also focus on the fact that the leaders hire suitable candidates who are consistent with the values that the company espouses. This leads to enhanced efficiency and productivity as the team focuses on the right goals and moves forward to achieve them.
In order to maintain a cordial corporate culture, leaders must also create an environment of winning in the workplace. They must constantly encourage employees to advance in their personal and professional development. Moreover, leaders must also empower them and make them feel good. As a result, the company will experience positive outcomes, leading to its growth and expansion.
Wrapping up!
Messages on these subjects wield extraordinary influence within the company. A leader must remember and adhere to these five messages to adequately disseminate, control, and reach the company’s objectives. They are crucial to increase accountability and substantially performing better in the workplace.
After all, leaders instill hope in the employees to believe in themselves and achieve success. In addition, positive and effective leaders empower others to accomplish their goals.
So, tell us – what you think is the most integral and significant message in the organization. How will it help achieve the company’s success? Let us know!