John Maxwell: The 17 Indisputable Laws of Team Work Module 7: Chapter 14: Week 4 - The Law of Communication (Interaction Fuels Action) Interaction Fuels Action Communication On Your Team The successes of your team and the ability or your team members to work together are just as dependent on good communication. Every team has to learn how to develop good communication in four areas: 1. From Leader in Teammates If you lead your team, give yourself these standards to live by as you communicate to your people: Be consistent – Nothing frustrates team members more than leaders who can’t make up their minds. Make sure your employees can depend on you and what you say. Be Clear – Your team cannot execute if the members don’t know what you want. Impress people with you straightforwardness, not you intelligence. Be Courteous – Everyone deserves to be shown respect, no matter what the position or what kind of history you might have with him. Because you are the leader, your communication sets the tone for the interaction among your people. Good communication is never one-way. The best leaders listen, invite, and then encourage participation. 2. From Teammates to Leaser a) Good team leaders never want yes-men. They want direct and honest communication from their people. b) Besides directness, the other quality team members need to display when communicating with their leaders is respect. We should respect the person who has agreed to take on that role and show him loyalty. 3. Among Teammates – Few people are successful unless a lot of people want them to be. Exhibit the following qualities. a) Be Supportive – Ask not what you teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates. Communication that is focused on giving rather than getting, takes the team to a whole new level. b) Stay current – Teammates who rehash old problems and continually open old wounds don’t work together. If they don’t work together, they are sunk. c) Being Vulnerable – Teams are like little communities and they develop only when the people in them don’t posture with one another. Teams succeed or fail based on the way that team members communicate with one another. 4. Between the Team and the Public a) Most teams interact with outsiders in some way: Whether the people are clients, customers, or the concerned public. If the receive communication from others gracefully: always respond in a timely fashion, and are realistic about setting and receiving expectations, they will do just fine. b) When it comes to communicating to people who are not on the team, the most important quality a team can display is unity. The power of unity is incredible. Working together means winning together -- But no team works together unless it’s communicating. It takes interaction to fuel action. That’s the way The Law of Communication works. Leaders also must be good listeners. Ultimately, poor listening leads to hostility, miscommunications and a breakdown of team cohesion.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 10:14:56 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015