Communication is an essential skill that every emerging leader must possess. Communication happens often in every work setting but sometimes the communication which occurs can be compared to the noise made by sellers in a marketplace. I made a trip to Lagos market in Nigeria recently. The environment and location of this market was a far cry from the smarter areas of Victoria Island, Ikoyi, and Lekki. A market seller communicating with you, could also be communicating with other potential customers, fellow vendors, and employees all at the same time. A word that perfectly describes this set up is “chaos”.
However, in modern offices in the UK, USA, and Canada, the same chaos exists but in more subtle forms that can be easy to miss. It is important for an emerging leader to understand that communication is more than just words. A colleague at work could say something which is directly opposite to what they truly feel. They could also have other personal issues at play which has absolutely nothing to do with the conversation, but which inadvertently influences the conversation. An emerging leader therefore must develop the ability to utilise intuition, perception, and emotional intelligence when navigating conversations.
This is an important skill to cultivate as an emerging leader because aside from working on deliverables in your specific industry, you will be primarily leading people, and people are at their nature complex. The 5 love languages by Gary Chapman describes languages that individuals speak within the context of relationships. For instance, if one partner prefers words of affirmation, and their partner gives them gifts, that individual may end up feeling unloved because they are not being loved in their primary love language.
In a work setting, when communication occurs, an emerging leader must develop the ability to identify not just the words that have been spoken, but also non-verbal words. A leader’s ability to accurately discern that there are other factors at play, equips them to ask more probing questions thus ensuring that both parties arrive at a deeper understanding. In a sense, that leader must learn the language of the individual they are communicating with and learn to speak that language.
As an organisation, it is therefore important that you equip your emerging leaders with the tools they need to connect with their team and thus develop into leaders that communicate not just with their mouth, but more deeply with their hearts.
Written by Chikodi Lori, Leadership Consultant
Disclaimer
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and reflects personal insights on leadership and workplace development. It does not constitute professional advice, and should not be relied upon as such. Any reliance placed on this content is at your own discretion.