Communication has never been this easy. Smartphones, tablets and laptops make it easy to keep in touch and stay connected. So, why are so many businesses bad at communicating? The Innovative Communicator (©2012, Balboa Press), by Miti Ampoma, recognizes that the relationship between social media and face-to-face communication are completely intertwined and must work together for the greater good in a modern business climate. The book describes the innovative communicator as someone who:
- Has the ability to re-invent and innovate in a constantly changing environment in a way that is good for business;
- Is bold—does things differently while staying grouned in common sense;
- Is good a building relationships; engenders loyalty;
- Is good at getting people involved, collaborative;
- Generates enthusiasm in others to new ideas or doing things differently;
- Is practical—action backs vision and ideas;
- Creates, spots, seizes and acts on opportunities;
- Is a strong thinker, clear decision-maker;
- Is passionate about face-to-face communication being a cornerstone vehicle in strategy where possible;
- Has the ability to think strategically and plan tactically and operationally with people at the heart and focus;
- Pushes own boundaries; will try something new;
- Is curious, caring, a listener, intuitive, focused, and courageous;
- Will do what is right; will persevere;
- Is engaging
- Is committee, resourceful; operates well under pressure;
- Is a big fan of clarity; quick to assimilate information, make sense of it; and made it accessible for others to understand;
- Believes the glass is always half full.
Will you be one of the 40% who fail in your new leadership position? More than 75% of the reason for failure is poor assimilation into the new situation according to various students by the Harvard Business Review, the Center for Creative Leadership, and Manchester Partners International. In their book The Ascending Leader (©2013, Smart Business Network), authors Diane Egbers and Karen Schenck identify seven enemies of success and their strategies for overcoming. The goal—for leaders to articulate a compelling vision and focused business plan. The seven enemies of success are:
- Submitting to the enemy within: Internal enemies include being a know it all, needing to be liked, and focusing on the wrong goals.
- Yielding to chaos: When a leader does not fully understand the complexities of a business, they risk being consumed by the crisis of the day, never able to catch up and form a real plan of action.
- Misreading culture cues: Leaders who attempt to make changes before understanding company culture are just setting themselves up to fail.
- Misfiring with your senior staff: Not proactively establishing an effective relationship with your department managers can result in problems from unclear expectations to marginal and ineffective support.
- Overlooking stakeholders and peers: If a leader overlooks relationships that are key to their success, they risk losing important stakeholders that will make or break their career.
- Alienating your team: New leaders often come off as micro-managers, and can turn off the people on their team before they even get started on their goals.
- Sub-optimize your vision and business plan: Pressure to perform immediately can cause leaders to fall into the trap of creating subpar results and a doomed to fail business plan.