Why Your Communication (or lack of) Could Be Holding Back Your Business

As a business owner or key leader have you run into any of these dilemmas? 

Poor communication between employees/departments

Unproductive meetings with no accountability to actions

Employee conflicts left unresolved

Poor productivity/disengaged staff

Lack of innovation

People working in silos

Goals not realized

High turnover/poor hiring decisions

Have you considered that these issues could be the result of poor leadership? Yes, I said leadership. Think about it, all of the above have one common denominator - lack of communication.  Isn't it the responsibility of the leader to clearly communicate what is expected to his or her team?  isn't this where it all starts?

Whether you have back office problems, customer service issues, slow sales, lack of accountability or disconnects between personnel, the basic underlying reason is that there is something not being discussed!

I challenge you to ask yourself the following questions and answer honestly. Do you: 

• Communicate clearly (and often) to your team the vision and mission of the company?


• Set goals and share them with your team, explaining how each individual can make an impact?


• Have clear roles and responsibilities for your team?   Have you discussed them with each individual?


• Ask your team regularly if they need support, development and /or additional resources to do their jobs successfully?


• Express standards by having policies and procedures in place?


• Resolve conflicts between employees or let situations simmer? 

Note the underlined words, they are all related to having a conversation, an action that is all too overlooked in so many organizations.  Missing conversations lead to misalignment and disintegration of the team which ultimately leads to decreased productivity.  Effective conversations can build team unity, provide clear expectations, and foster ownership and accountability ultimately leading to better bottom line results.

How did you make out answering the questions?  Please share!

*Even if you have one, two or more levels of management in place, these same questions apply. Just remember it always starts at the top!