Communication: The Most Important Factor to Leadership Success
Good communication is one of the most significant aspects of your leadership. In today’s world there is so much technology that is used for communication. Your target audience has a variety of ways to receive information from you. This is an exciting and ever-changing world that we live in, but here is your problem:
How do you effectively communicate to so many people in so many different formats?
How can you reach everyone according the their preferred methods of communicating?
Your athletes, parents, administration, fans, and other interested parties are already using these tools for communication.
Are you?
Here is your solution and guide for leadership communication in the 21st century:
1. Team App
I think we are one of the first teams to create an app for our program. This has been a game changer! I send out notifications, have resources, schedules, maps, lists, etc. all on this thing. This tool is used for people already in our program who need to know inside information.
2. Mass Email with MailChimp
Email is outdated. Crazy, right? But it is. When emailing a large group of people you need a way for your audience to receive information that is quick, easy on the eyes, and very informative. MailChimp is fantastic. It’s free (unless the group is too large) and allows you to create an online newsletter sent as an email. In my experience, 78% of people who receive my newsletters view them on a phone. Mailchimp makes it easy to read, scroll, click, etc. You design a custom template for every email. For you, the work is relatively minimal.
3. Team Website
You need a place where you can put important information, update it regularly, and people can find it easily. I love directing people to our website. This reminds me of that saying, “You can give someone a fish and he can eat for a day, or you can teach a person to fish and he can eat for a lifetime.” Once people know where the information is, they can get there by themselves the next time and keep going back to get what they need. I typically don’t hear from them again. Use Squarespace and develop your own site. You can do it for $8 a month!
4. Twitter/Instagram/Facebook
Create updates people are interested in. Other people can add pictures to the group with a #hashtag. This allows your audience to have a group to belong to. Your program can be the cool group on campus.
5. Phone call
Some people still like phone calls. Bring back the personal touch in communication.
6. Texting
Quick and easy. 99% of my athletes and coaches prefer this mode of communication. They can get back to me right away, or once they have thought about a response. Often times, they are somewhere they can’t talk, so it’s quicker.
So which on is the best one? Answer: all of them. Start with asking your audience how they like to give and receive information or which one they prefer to communicate with.
Ask:
- Best way to reach you (phone, text, email)?
- When can I expect your reply (immediate, hour(s), days)?
It is simply impossible to become a great leader without being a great communicator. – Mike Myatt Forbes .com