Leadership

Why must leaders have good communication skills?

Great leaders must be good communicators because:

1. they must be able to empathise and understand the struggles and feelings of other team members. 

Many times team members encounter lots of problems in dealing with the project. One may feel down when they do not succeed in a particular area or task. If a leader is incapable of understanding his or her team members and instead reprimand them for their incapability, team members likely do not want to speak up and the problems may go unnoticed, hindering the overall productivity and effectiveness of the team. Empathising with team members builds healthy long term relationships and maximises innovation and productivity. Besides, empathy can inspire a leader to work hard to change and constantly improve the ways they lead to benefit the most.

Statistics: One good example is Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, who examines the unstated needs and emotions of customers when developing products. Nadella credits this empathy with some of the innovations at Microsoft in the past five years. 

Beatrice Webb, well-off socialist politician in 19th century, worked in a textile factory to understand the struggles of the poor. Her empathy inspired her to campaign for improved factory conditions and became a leader in Socialist Fabian Society and co-founded the London School of Economics.

2. they should provide clarity and direction

Elon Musk sometimes micromanages his teammates and gives them clear goals. Such as: on a small scale, getting Tesla production back on track, and at a large scale, helping engineer reusable rockets. 

3. build trust and collaboration

study from the Harvard Business Review advises, “Questions or simple rules aimed at fostering autonomy and cooperation and leveraging employees’ initiative can be more effective than top-down control in shaping collective behavior.” 

There should be a greater emphasis on creating an environment where the employees will initiate collaborative efforts because they understand that everyone’s success is tied together. 

 When team members feel confident that they will be heard and respected, they are more likely to offer their ideas and work together towards a common goal. 

4. be able to resolve conflicts

5. better customer relationships

6. goal alignment

One of the 7 habits of highly effective people: begin with the end in mind. It allows us to move our ideas into the real world. 

All this helps put away obstacles and lets the team work together more efficiently and effectively. Additionally, having leaders with good communication skills helps prevent conflict in itself and propel the team towards a more common goal (unity). 

• According to a study by Socialcast, 69 percent of employees would work harder if their actions were better appreciated

• According to Pyschology Today, insincere praise in often intepretated as being manipulative

• According to an article by Linkedin, titled "Leadership and Sincerity", leaders who are sincere often gain respect and dedication from the people they lead. 

• Jens Hofma, CEO of Pizza Hut, a multinational and multi-billion company, takes shifts at busy Pizza Hut branches as a way of listening to his employees first-hand, and discover any problems they are facing

• Clear communications: As Bill Gates said, "I believe if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions, they will be moved to act" Bill Gates was a clear communicator who could simplify complex concepts so that they were easily understandable by his employees

• Jeff Immelt, the former CEO of General Electric, was criticised for his poor communication skills and lack of transparency with investors. During his tenure, the company's stock price declined, and Immelt was accused of failing to provide clear communication about the company's strategy and financial performance.

• Adolf Hitler refused to listen to the advice of his army high command, and wanted to invade Moscow in Winter. This led to many German soldiers dying due to hypothermia and frostbite

• Najib Razak was accused of corruption during his tenure, Najib Razak, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, was accused of corruption during his tenure. He was charged with 42 counts of corruption and money laundering related to the 1MDB scandal, a state investment fund that allegedly siphoned off billions of dollars. Najib was accused of using his political power to divert the funds for his personal use, including purchasing luxury properties, artwork, and jewelry. In July 2020, he was found guilty on all seven charges of abuse of power, money laundering, and criminal breach of trust in relation to the 1MDB scandal, and sentenced to 12 years in prison. The verdict was upheld on appeal in March 2021, and Najib is currently serving his sentence.

• Ferdinand Marcos, the former President of the Philippines was accused of using his political power to amass a personal fortune through corrupt means, including embezzlement and cronyism. Estimates of Marcos's wealth range from $5 billion to $10 billion, much of which was believed to have been acquired through corrupt means during his time in office.

• Elizabeth Holmes, the founder and former CEO of Theranos, was charged with massive fraud and conspiracy by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2018. The SEC alleged that she had raised more than $700 million from investors by deceiving them about Theranos's technology, which was supposed to revolutionize blood testing. 

• Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, has been accused of using his political power to enrich himself and his allies through corrupt means, such as embezzlement, money laundering, and bribery. Estimates of Putin's personal wealth range from tens to hundreds of billions of dollars, much of which is believed to have been acquired through corrupt means.

• "A good leader inspires people to have confidence in him; A great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves" Eleanor Roosevelt