If you are seeking to become a leader in your organization, it’s crucial that you build relationships with members on all levels of the company. Sounds like A LOT of work, but it’s easier than you think, and will positively benefit every aspect of your career.
Through my experience in the KWSM Leadership Program, I’ve learned the value of building connections with other team members. As I develop my leadership skills, I want to build trust with other members of the team, so that collaboration and teamwork can flourish.
Here are the steps I took to improve my communication and leadership skills.
Opening The Doors Of Communication
Step one… Don’t be afraid to reach out and spark up a conversation with others in your organization. Communication will open many doors for building a connection, and that includes all forms of communication; such as feedback, questions, ideas, and opinions. It’s important as leaders that we strive to receive all of these forms. This will not only provide a better understanding and well-rounded perspective for the leader but will also help foster a sense of respect and trust between team members.
The Importance Of an Open Mindset
Step two… If you want to be a leader, you must have an open mind. Some people may believe that being open-minded is like sacrificing your vision or objectives, but that’s far from the truth. The key to being open-minded and remaining true to yourself is having self-awareness, and being able to look inward and understand any potential biases you might have. This will allow you to check yourself when engaging with others. Have you heard the saying, “Don’t yuck someone’s yum”? That definitely applies here, because no one wants to feel unseen, unheard, and unappreciated. As leaders, our role is to support, motivate, and guide our teams, and you can’t do that successfully if you’re not taking their perspectives into consideration. So remember it is necessary that we pay attention to our initial judgments and remain open-minded when interacting with others in order to create trust and camaraderie.
Committing To Success
Step three…In order to build trust, you must follow through on your commitments to the team and the mission. As a leader you’re often expected to be resourceful, that doesn’t necessarily mean having all of the answers to their questions or solutions to their problems, but more so having the proper knowledge and ability to guide them in the right direction to help provide a solution. This is another reason why it is important to build relationships within your organization because it creates the opportunity for connecting one resource to another, increasing teamwork and collaboration.
How KWSM Builds Relationships Within The Agency
Within our agency, we’ve been able to successfully incorporate these tactics into our daily communication. We practice this by including a twenty-minute morning huddle five days a week, and two company-wide meetings that last anywhere from one hour to two hours. These meetings are set to establish consistency and accountability in our daily work and provide dedicated times for team members to discuss and collaborate on assignments. We’ve also decided to incorporate a weekly department meeting, which allows for everyone within their assigned department to openly communicate and form connections with one another. It’s also a great space to receive support and feedback! As a leading digital marketing agency, we pride ourselves on team building, so recently we decided to integrate one-on-one meetings, and coffee chats with individuals throughout the agency. This gives every person at every level the chance to get to know someone that we might not otherwise engage with.
Overall, any of these communication strategies are beneficial to a team and can help increase employee morale. The more people feel heard and understood by their peers, the more likely they are to stay and grow with an organization. It is the leader’s job to develop and execute these opportunities for relationship building within a team, and facilitate and ensure that it’s a safe space for all to contribute by following through on their commitments.
Ready To Become A Leader?
Our in-house KWSM Leadership Program, taught by our CEO, helps build leaders at every level of the agency. If you’re looking to grow in your career and become a top-notch leader, we might be the work-family you are looking for.
