Patrick Lencioni warns of five dysfunctions that threaten the stability and success of any team. His five dysfunctions are all real threats that I’ve personally witnessed over and over while coaching teams of all sizes. I’ve also found that clarity in communication cuts through each of those five dysfunctions faster than just about any other approach.
Why is communication such a big deal? Workman Success recently partnered with Sisu and commissioned a national study on teams in real estate that found that real estate professionals overwhelmingly feel that poor communication is the biggest barrier to establishing a strong team. It’s no wonder to me that I’ve seen effective communication put a stop to dysfunctional behavior and help teams grow past barriers that kept them from becoming successful. Feeling like you’re in a communication funk? Here are three simple things you can do this week to start communicating more effectively with your team.
Schedule Accountability Meetings
Are you regularly meeting with your team members to learn about their goals, their productivity, and their plans to get where they want to go? Accountability is too powerful a tool to let go unused. If you want a successful team and want to see the members of your team meet their goals, accountability just isn’t optional. Set time aside to regularly have a touchpoint with your team members and ask the hard questions about what they’re doing to get where they need to be. Accountability is love because it shows that you actually care about what your team is doing and how they’re growing.
Celebrate Successes and Recognize Talent
How are you celebrating wins? Is it public? Do people on your team know when others do well? Do they know what others are doing well? This might not sound like communication, but an increase in recognition builds community and trust, which are two massive factors in improving communication channels and openness on a team. If you want them to open up and communicate, celebrate your team and recognize their contributions and talent.
Hold Daily Huddles
I’ve heard every excuse for why a team doesn’t have time for daily huddles, but never seen a good substitute for what they offer. This is a perfect place to rally your team, open lines of communication, increase accountability, and celebrate wins. Daily huddles are where community and culture are built. If you want a communicative team, you have to provide opportunities for them to communicate, and huddles are among the best I know of. Get your team together. Take the time. Build your culture of communication.
What are you going to do this week to improve communication on your team? Make a plan and take action. It’s what we do on the small scale — day by day — that creates the biggest ripples in our businesses and lives.
