One of the greatest skills for a leader is to be an exceptional communicator and listener. Then, you'll create the culture and environment in which your associates can thrive. To become an exceptional leader, have these four conversations on a regular basis. A leader's ability to connect with and engage associates to perform well, be true to the company's vision, and be accountable for the results is directly tied to the four conversations leaders must have in their business. Jesse Cole, author and owner of the Savannah Bananas baseball team, shares helpful ways to communicate in his book, Fans First.
- Eliminate friction — this makes your associate's jobs easy to perform by creating systems that allow effectiveness and efficiency in caring for the customer. Care for the associate, and they will care for the customer.
- Empower action — consistently support your team's growth and development.
- Engage deeply — learn about them, love them, and recognize efforts constantly.
- Experiment constantly — foster creativity and encourage idea generation for trial and error. Be open to new ideas and change.
The quality of the conversations and the frequency with which you have them will lead to a more engaged team that will deliver the performances you are looking for from the team. There are four core conversations a leader must prepare to hold consistently. In preparation for the conversations, be sure to plan the agenda before the meeting. Collect the data you will need, be clear with your intentions for the meeting, and be cognizant of your tone, words, and body language exhibited throughout the conversation by both parties.
Let's review the four conversations.
1. Goal-setting conversations
Start with clear goals, targets, and objectives. Set associates up for success and development personally and professionally. Be sure to write down the goal. Show the milestones they will achieve on the journey toward accomplishing their goals. Allow them to discuss how they will make the goal a reality and how their achievement helps the business succeed. There must be an agreement by all parties before closing the conversation that the goals are set and there is a plan to move forward. Follow the SMART goal process (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, timebound) with an action plan (what, when, how, who) to make things clear to the leader and the associate.
Here are tips to assist you in the goal-setting conversation:
- Be sure to link the goal to their interests and capabilities
- Introduce the goals for refinement
- Identify steps — be open and honest
- Document the agreement — gain commitment
- Review the next steps and milestones along the way
- Empower and share confidence in their ability to win
2. Praising conversations
Strive to reinforce good behaviors often. Positive conversations support building a strong relationship of trust and rapport with your associates. In this conversation, you, the leader, can lift up your associates with encouragement and faith that they can achieve more than they ever thought they could. Being positive and staying focused on the present is essential. Be specific when having this conversation - discuss what you observed. Do not rely on the general "Thank Yous" — get precise and specific.
3. Redirecting conversations
Sometimes, specific behaviors will be out of alignment with the associate’s goals. Redirecting his or her behaviors will help him or her recognize the behavior out of alignment and work to correct it. Redirecting is done immediately, honestly, with kindness, and with no blaming or judgments — maintaining focus on the goal. As the leader, describe the error, then work to re-clarify the goal. Allow the associate to share his or her perspective while you listen. Ask how he or she will correct the error; then, he or she will share the next steps and actions for the correction. Finally, an agreement on monitoring and measuring results and a follow-up date are specified to review results. Show him or her you care about his or her success, and you're confident he or she can make the correction.
4. Wrapping up conversation
When the associate completes an assignment or project, celebrate and acknowledge the growth from the accomplishment. Make success something everyone wants — promote it, energize your associates with success, and allow him or her to see that accomplishing goals is well worth it. Be sure to ask how he or she felt and his or her thoughts about his or her accomplishments. Discuss the results and the impact on the business with his or her accomplishments. A great tool to conduct a postmortem on accomplishing the goal is a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) — learn what we can do better next time.
Conversations keep the team moving in the right direction. Holding these four crucial conversations will take courage and commitment from you, the leader. With these coaching conversations, you'll learn to become more self-aware of your ability to impact others' behavior by being authentic. These four conversations help leaders build an environment of trust vital to influencing the behavior of the associates they supervise and obtaining the goals and results the business is working toward.
Building trust is one of the many cornerstones a leader must have to be an exceptional communicator. Here are additional ways to build trust, according to Author Ken Blanchard:
Ability — the leader demonstrates competence to get the job done, produce results, and make things happen. He or she knows how to equip others with what is needed for them to succeed.
Believable — the leader acts with integrity, honesty, and tact. He or she follows systems and processes in place, is value-driven, and maintains equity and inclusion with everyone on the team.
Connected — the leader shows care, concern, and empathy for others. He or she is curious and wants to learn about others. He or she engages in thoughtful actions toward others and share about themselves with others to build connections.
Dependable — the leader is reliable, follows through on what he or she commits to, and holds themselves and others accountable for his or her actions.
When communicating, remember to share information openly without breaking confidence. Handle conflict by collaborating on solutions, delegate responsibilities by allowing others to participate in decision-making, create and solidify plans by being interactive and focused on the next steps, and make sure the big picture is seen — a clear vision of the desired result.
The four structured conversations do not need to be so scary, overwhelming, or haphazard. Knowing your intention, working on garnering the skills by continuing to learn and grow, and practicing will increase your ability to engage others in effective conversations. In addition, once you develop the habit of utilizing the four conversations, you will be rewarded by associates who want to achieve their goals.
