The New Five-Step Program for Leaders & Decision Makers (Free e-book)

As a business leader, do you feel like you’ve been doing responsive triage more than initiating productive engagement, employee satisfaction and business evolution lately? Join the club…

Times have been tough for those of us in business communication. And whether you’re at an agency counseling clients or inside a company responsible for communications, you’re probably beginning to understand that there’s a “new normal.” Setting aside the usual array of workplace challenges, we now face a workforce that is more skeptical and, in some cases, more wounded than ever before. If you’re like me, then thinking about the big effects of something as (seemingly) small as a drop in engagement probably makes you want to pull the covers over your head and go back to bed till it’s all over.

I’ve attempted to tackle this topic (and offer tips so you can do the same) in my new, free e-book, “The Leader Differential: Five Steps to Thrive (Not Just Survive).”

As a preview, here are five steps you can take to propel your company, agency or team into the next decade:

1. Develop self-awareness. Employees listen to what you say, and pay close attention to what you do. Develop the awareness not only to act the role of the leader you want to be, but to role model the actions and characteristics that you would like to see in others.
2. Plan your communication. As with every other strategic discipline inside organizations today, communication is planned from the beginning with a clear assessment of the business outcome you want to achieve with each initiative.
3. Listen first. Listen second. Then communicate. There’s a reason we have two ears and one mouth. Ask the necessary questions first, then actively listen.
4. You are always communicating, so control the message. Don’t assume that because you’re not saying anything, you’re not sending any messages. Your employees will read into your behavior when you withhold information or avoid communicating.
5. Think about who else can benefit from your information. At the end of a meeting, or when you make key decisions, ask yourself: Who else needs to know this information, how will they get it, and who will get it to them? This ensures that you are keeping others apprised of their need-to-know information and everyone aligned.

For the complete e-book, please visit YourThoughtPartner.com/5-steps-to-thrive-in-2010.

I hope you enjoy it!