There are three keys to success in business. One of them is the skill of communicating. Based on a long line of research.
Based on a long line of research, leaders and managers spend most of their time at work communicating. They communicate up, down, and laterally inside the organization and outside to audiences such as vendors, regulators, customers, and shareholders. They talk one on one, run meetings, and give and listen to presentations. They write emails, reports, texts, tweets, blog posts, wiki entries, and a variety of other work-related documents. But it is not just frequency that makes a business communication skill so important.
Leaders need to get things done, but they have to trust others to do the work, because, in a fast-paced and complex world, employees must know how to think and act on their own, not wait for the boss’s orders.
Communication written or oral is the primary means for leaders and managers to influence actions. By studying and practicing communication skills now, you will be better prepared to lead. Make communication a strength now. Tom Kahl describes how he used his MBA experience to improve how he communicated.
- Take your time during your MBA program, and use a fair amount of it or a lot of it to work on the things you feel are weak at. As things might likely bring trouble to you later in the future. Failure now is not the same as failure later. It doesn’t matter if you know all the technical know-how, if I can’t properly communicate it, if I don’t take risks and learn to share my ideas or talks or presentation then I won’t be able to stand out as a leader or a manager.
Business leaders value communication
A GMAC survey that took place years ago showed that recruiters want more communication skills in an MBA holder’s profile. Business leaders have a high record for the ability to communicate, if you can’t convey your thinking clearly and logically, it has little value.
Joseph Thompson: “Perfect the art of being concise and direct with your communication”. This is effective in meetings and organizations around the world. An example will be the ‘Elevator Speech’.
Elizabeth Carpenter: “Good communication within a team or a business group is essential, including for start-ups, getting advice to others. It’s a simple but underrated skill.
These days you have to learn to communicate in multiple media. Having an MBA degree doesn’t assure you a job if you can’t communicate. Being able to speak and write well can make the difference between getting a job you want and settling for a job that is offered. Recruiters ask some questions to evaluate a person.
- Can they be a good consultant?
- Can they speak well?
- Can they be placed in front of the clients?
- Can they have the interpersonal skills to be able to persuade people rather than bully them or get frustrated about the kinds of things that they’re trying to achieve?
To be continued…
