Whenever a leader is within the sightline of his or her employees, communication is occuring. What message is your face and body language communicating without you even having to open your mouth?
Communication continues to be a problem for virtually every organization. You would think that after recognizing the problem for this long we would have developed a solution. It seems that we have decided to treat communication like a seasonal cold – we put up with the symptoms without getting to a cure.
As a leader recognize that you are communicating whenever you are visible to your employees. They watch you from the time you arrive until the time you leave. They are watching for clues as to whether you are in a good mood, angry mood, stressed out or in control. If the leader appears to be in a bad mood, the entire workgroup will adopt that mood, often by lunchtime! And employees who sense that the leader is not in a good mood will tend to withhold information. This keeps the leader from being informed about what is going on.
Action Tips
- Make sure that you contribute to a happier workplace by managing your mood. Productivity and morale will be higher when you are in a more positive mood.
- Be conscious of the impression you are creating. Make every attempt to be seen as approachable.
- It is okay to show your emotion – just be strategic about what you are communicating and that it will have the desired effect.
By looking at yourself through the eyes of your employees you can create a more positive and productive workplace.
