Today we kick off a 2-week series of pods entitled Leadership & …

• Leadership and Communication
• Leadership and Seismos Moments

Today we start with Part 1: Leadership & Communication.

Effective communication is a super important skill, but it is hard. No matter the size of the organization we’ve worked for, communication was always one of the hardest things to do well.

Effective communication has a single goal: shared understanding.

You can listen to the podcast here. The video version is available here.

Types of communication:

No communication

• Communication that is unexpressed.
• In its absence, those who serve alongside you will fill in the gaps with their own ideas.
• People can handle almost anything if it’s clearly and lovingly communicated.

Confusing communication

• It’s expressed, but it’s vague.
• The listener ends up having to guess what was meant.
• Be aware of the gap between your understanding and that of your team.

Implied communication

• Communication that’s clear, at least to the speaker, but it’s not fully
• The solution to implied communication is to overcommunicate.

Clear communication

• Happens when the hearer’s understanding matches
• Communication hasn’t really happened until the other person not only receives your words but also understands them.

Communication tips

• Always communicate the why.
• Close the loop – Ask: “What do you understand from what I just said?”
• Give yourself grace – Almost every great communicator started as a poor communicator.

Why are we talking about this today and why does it matter? Because one of the most important components of a healthy culture is effective communication.