Episode 81: The Importance of Clear Communication in Teamwork
Fostering Success Through Clear Communication: A Guide to Effective Teamwork for Business Owners
Effective communication is the backbone of successful teamwork. Whether you're leading a small team or working with remote contractors, clear communication is crucial to ensure everyone is on the same page, tasks are delegated effectively, and goals are achieved efficiently. In this podcast episode of Collab with Kiva, we delve into the significance of clear communication in teamwork and provide actionable insights to enhance your team's collaboration.
The Power of Clear Communication: Clear communication is the foundation of any successful team. It involves articulating ideas, sharing information, and actively listening to others. By fostering a culture of open and transparent communication, team members can align their efforts, collaborate effectively, and achieve desired outcomes.
Setting Clear Expectations: One common challenge business owners face is assuming that team members will fully understand their business and expectations from day one. However, setting clear expectations is essential to avoid miscommunication and ensure everyone is on the same page. Clearly define roles, responsibilities, project timelines, and desired outcomes to avoid confusion and promote accountability.
Effective Delegation: Delegating tasks is an essential skill for business owners, but it's equally important to communicate expectations and provide necessary resources. Clearly communicate the project objectives, desired outcomes, deadlines, and any specific instructions. Encourage team members to ask questions and seek clarification to ensure they have a complete understanding of the task at hand.
Importance of Active Listening: Communication is a two-way street, and active listening is a fundamental aspect of effective communication. Encourage team members to listen attentively, ask questions, and seek feedback. This fosters a culture of collaboration, trust, and continuous improvement.
The Impact of Clear Communication in Remote Teams: In today's digital age, remote teams are becoming increasingly common. Clear communication becomes even more critical in remote work settings where face-to-face interactions are limited. Embrace digital communication tools, such as video conferences and instant messaging platforms, to facilitate seamless communication and maintain strong connections.
Clear communication is the bedrock of successful teamwork. By setting clear expectations, effectively delegating tasks, and actively listening, business owners can foster a collaborative environment that drives productivity and achieves desired outcomes. Embrace the power of clear communication in your team and witness the positive impact it can have.
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Podcast Transcript:
Kiva Slade 0:01
Welcome to collab with Kiva, where we let our inner nerd geek out on all the non sexy parts of your business. I'm talking data and operations. Neither as flashy or glamorous, but both are foundational to your business growth. I'm your host, Kiva Slade, your strategy and analytics guide here to break down what feels complicated, so it is understandable and executional. Let's dive in. Hello, and welcome to another episode of Collab with Kiva. I am your host, Kiva Slade. And today, I want to talk to you about the importance of clear communication, especially as it relates to teamwork. So many of you know, I work with teams. And oftentimes these topics come up is things that I see in my work. And so clear communication is like the foundation of effective teamwork. There's other things that get that get folded in and added to that recipe. But really clear communication and cannot be overstated, and how important it is, it really helps ensure that everyone on the team is on the same page understands their roles and responsibilities, and can collaborate efficiently towards achieving your business goals. So whether you have a small team of remote contractors, or you're solopreneur, and you're considering expanding your team, mastering the art of clear communication is crucial.
Kiva Slade 1:45
If you tuned into the last episode, we actually talked with Miriam Meima, and we were talking about preserving your culture as you scale. Well, clear communication, if you have that nailed down when your team is small, when you scale. Oh, my goodness, they will do so much more for you. And your team is you're looking to preserve that culture. And I'm always reminded of the words of Brené Brown, clear is kind, unclear, unkind. So why should we focus on clear communication? Let me paint a picture for you. You delegate a task to a team member, but you fail to provide clear instructions, or deadlines. Without clear communication, the team member may not fully understand what is expected, leading to misunderstandings in potentially costly errors. By clearly communicating your expectations and providing concise instructions, you set your team up for success recently, and I've observed there was communication where there were some things that were needed. And it wasn't spelled out what all of what was needed. And that literally led to a two week delay in getting the things done. Because the person worked on what was asked, then it was like, oh, no, we also wanted this. Oh, but we also so they worked on that, then they came back with that Oh, and we also wanted this, if all the things were spelled out in the beginning, the person who was doing the work could have done all the things and gotten it back to you in a very timely manner. But without it being shared and being clear, there was so much back and forth. And when you're having that back and forth, something that not everyone focuses on is that that is impacting your productivity of the team. And the business. It's also impacting your labor costs. Because if you could have given the person the to do with all the list of the things that you want it in most cases, they can knock that out faster than you going back and forth, back and forth with them on what you want it because you couldn't be clearer in the beginning. So we start impacting the profitability of our projects and our work when we have this unclear communication taking place.
Kiva Slade 4:18
So another aspect, though, of clear communications is really around setting expectations. And this is really directed at business owners. I've seen many times where people like to assume or expect, hey, we just hire such and such and they're going to be able to take over everything. They're just why don't they know how to do this, that in many cases there aren't SOPs, there isn't clear communication that's taking place. So it's really important as business owners to manage your expectations. They recognize team members, they don't fully even understand you or your business, or those intricacies. Oh In the first day, the first week, the first two weeks, in most cases, the first 30 days, they're still trying to figure out what your tone, your clients, what does that look like. And you need to provide them with the necessary information and the context in which to perform the task effectively. I had someone that had I was working with and they wanted something from a team member sounds like they had communicated a lot of things verbally, things weren't written down this that any other and there was no paper trail, email trail, whatever kind of trail, there were no breadcrumbs of this information. So therefore, an another team member couldn't even step in to help, because the stuff just didn't exist. And you can't expect people to make stuff up out of what doesn't exist. And so again, setting those expectations that, hey, this is I'm going to communicate with you via phone because I like that. However, my expectation is that after we have a phone call, you will create a bullet list of what we talked about and what those action items are, those action items will go into our project management tool, you will add me as blah, blah, blah, whatever it is. So that that information, if it had been communicated, and followed up on if someone else on the team was able to step in, they would have actually found things that would have been helpful. But in this particular case, there was nothing to find because the person did not write anything down, there weren't any action items. Oh, and by the way, they up and quit.
Kiva Slade 6:45
So really, like they just totally left the business owner hanging. But in that lack of good clear communication, there was nothing anyone else on the team could do to help fill that void. And that isn't a good feeling for anyone involved. So it's really important to set your expectations. What is it that you want team members to do, you may not have all of your SOPs laid out. Granted, that's fine and dandy. However, if there are loom videos, or if there are checklist of the things that you want to see done, and what your expectations are, at least someone has something in which to work off of, instead of having absolutely nothing. And to that point. Another aspect and this is like really more operational aspect is naming conventions. Establishing these as soon as you can in your business is so helpful. Because clear naming conventions, it feels like a small detail, I get it. But it can have a significant impact on your team's efficiency. When files documents, they have consistent and intuitive names match is intuitive to you as the owner, but intuitive to the team.
Kiva Slade 8:13
The team members can easily locate, access them without really wasting time searching, searching, and also having to circle back for clarification, like over and over and over again. And this one came up because I took a course and it really did talk about these importance of naming conventions, especially if you do have done any coding, you have changed logs. And it's like important to note, like what was changed in this particular iteration? You know, so having consistent naming conventions was a huge part of one module of the course. And I've been trying to implement that in my own business. And you know, I shared with clients. But imagine you're like, hey, go find an email about a corporate event that we did. And repurpose that. For this next one. While you type in like your team member types and corporate event, nothing comes up that's an actual email, Corporal corporate, whatever floral or corporate, you know, sales event, corporate, whatever kind of event it is, and nothing comes up. And so now you're having them try to figure out what is actually that I should search for now. But if we had naming conventions, we could actually alleviate that. And I don't know about anyone else, but I feel like I know words that are in my emails and or files. But it doesn't matter how much I search. Google never gives me those documents.
Kiva Slade 9:49
So having naming conventions is super important. And when you have things that come together in terms of a file, maybe it is email, like you've have a draft email template, put that in an document in an SOP, and name it. That way, if people can't find it in the email, they can at least find it in your files. And that way, again, you're increasing your team's efficiency. And I'll be honest, many of us work with remote teams, which in and of itself, poses another barrier to clear communication. Because sometimes the way we communicate, it's different. There's US English, there's the Queen's English, there's uses of s's versus z's, and so many other things. But there's also cultural differences that come into play. So when you have remote teams, in sometimes you're overcoming language barriers, cultural norms, in order to have effective communication. And I think that that's where checking meetings, things like loom, slack are so helpful. You know, most project management tools now have the ability to leave a voice note, you know, or a quick video. And that allows that other party to not only see what you're saying in many instances, but hear what you're saying. And the two together help bridge that communication gap that can sometimes success. Of course, like I've said, regular team meetings are also helpful, where people can get updates and ask their necessary questions.
Kiva Slade 11:35
You know, you want to create a sense of belonging, again, we're talking about preserving culture, and like alignment, because you have a physical distance. But that doesn't mean that your team has to feel distant from one another or disconnected from one another. And sometimes as a CEO, you might talk to Sally, and you're talking to John and Mary and Bob, but Bob, Mary, John, and Sally never talked to one another. Maybe you don't even have weekly or bi weekly team meetings. So your team never has the ability to develop cohesive relationships, which goes a long way in having good communication. Because when their team gets to know each other, communicate with each other about different things, they have more grace to extend to one another when communication may be a bit off or might be missing. So it's really important to bridge those communication gaps. And weekly check ins and orally using slack, audio tools, video tools are super helpful. And I mean, the reality of the situation is poor communication can have negative consequences for your business, misunderstandings, miscommunications, those as shared lead to delays, they lead to things having to be done over again, which means what you're paying for something more than once, it can also lead to strain to client relationships. In that back and forth, that took two weeks, that meant a client wasn't getting what they were paying for, in a timely manner. So you can impact your client relationships as well through poor communication skills. And, again, this also impacts your productivity, it increases your cost. And that impacts your profitability, which is important for most of us.
Kiva Slade 13:42
So as you are thinking through how can I be more clear, so that I can be more kind in my communication. I want to leave you with these three tips. Clearly communicate expectations, and deadlines when delegating tasks. If you are using a project management tool, no tasks should go into that tool without someone who owns it, and a date that it's due. So, again, clearly communicate expectations and deadlines. When you're delegating. Number two, establish some consistent naming conventions for files and folders just to enhance organization and also help out with that team efficiency. In addition to that, schedule regular check ins create a culture of open communication to ensure your team members have opportunities to seek clarification and ask questions of you as the business owner because no matter how many people you've hired in your business, there are things that only you know, because you birth this baby and you took care of it in the beginning you were the sole vied for it. So there are things that only, you know, sometimes clients come through referrals only. So there are things you know about clients that no one else is going to know. But your team might need to know those things.
Kiva Slade 15:14
And if you don't have opportunities and don't create opportunities for this open connection, they won't know those things. But I guarantee you, you will be frustrated when they do something that indicates that they don't know these things. They cannot read your mind. They are not mind reader's. No one on their best day is showing up saying, How can I royally fail today? How can I really screw up my clients business, that's not happening. However, there are many owners who are feeling like that's the kind of team that they have. And those owners need to take a look in the mirror, because leadership starts at the top, in that filters down, clear communication starts at the top, and it filters down. So enhance your communication skills, and know how to communicate with your team. And your team will then communicate well with you as well. And they'll communicate well with one another, which in many cases is what you're actually going for, so that you can step out of some of the doing roles that you have as an owner. But until that clear communication is taking place that is going to be difficult. Sorry, not sorry to tell you that.
Kiva Slade 16:42
So thanks for joining me today for this episode on the importance of clear communication, especially as it relates to teamwork. Remember, clear communication is key to effective collaboration and achieving your business goals. In dare I say it also has an impact on your what? Business intelligence because it impacts your profitability, as well as your labor costs. So set clear expectations. Have those regular check ins and work on how you are communicating, because that will filter down to the rest of your team. So thank you so much for listening, and I'll see you next time. Bye. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Collab with Kiva. I'm wildly cheering you on as you go forth and execute data and operational efficiencies in your business. If you need additional support, connect with me via my website, the516collaborative.com your reviews on Apple are appreciated. See you next week.
Meet Kiva Slade - the Founder and CEO of The 516 Collaborative. With a unique background in high-power politics on Capitol Hill and sixteen years as a homeschooling mama, Kiva found her calling in the online business world as a trusted guide for entrepreneurs looking to build the business of their dreams.
Kiva's work began behind the scenes, orchestrating the back end of businesses and managing teams. But her inner data diva couldn't help but notice that small businesses needed help harnessing the power of data for growth. So she and her team set out to uncover and tidy up the data required to enable clients to grow their businesses confidently and easily.