Effective leaders posses a variety of different skills; like being flexible and adjusting to the situation at hand. I have exercised different styles of leadership, depending on the competence and confidence of the individuals who worked with me. It’s the same in golf; a golf instructor will adjust his teaching methods based on the skills and motivation of his or her students. A golf instructor cannot use the same teaching method for every students if each one has a different skill set and level of motivation. Golf, as in leadership, requires a different treatment. The beginner needs highly directive feedback and considerable supervision. The person more competent than the beginner needs a great deal of support and a more directive type of coaching. The next level would be the developing individual; the one who can take on more responsibility yet needs support to develop confidence to enhance continued growth. Then there’s the self-reliant individual who is both competent and confident, and capable of taking direction and working independently.

A leader, just like a golfer, has to use a multitude of skills to be effective. Being an effective communicator is not just about having different skills, but about using the most effective communication skill for the situation. It’s like a golfer using the putter for every shot; he or she will advance the ball, but not in the most efficient way.

There are four communications types: dominant, reflective, friendly and social. Coincidentally, there are four types of clubs in the golf bag: woods, irons, wedges and the putter. At this hole you faced uphill shots, downhill shots, side hill shots and bunker (sand trap) shots. Each required a different club to be effective. Leadership also requires a multitude of communication skills and knowing when to use each one.

Abraham Maslow once said: “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to treat every problem as a nail.” Most people have one or two skills (clubs) in their bag that they use in most situations because that is what they are most comfortable with. By doing so they are not maximizing their employees’ potential and probably miss getting the most out of their employees because they treat every employee in every situation the same way, perhaps getting the same response. You have to adjust your leadership style to their level of competence and confidence.

Effective communications is not just about talking, it is also about listening. Listening, and knowing how to be a good listener, is the most important communication skill one can possess. There are many different concepts to communications, such as listening with empathy, sharing thoughts and rationalizing, asking for input and maintaining the self esteem of the employee in difficult situations. Of these, perhaps the most important is empathetic listening; truly hearing. Empathy is taking the time to understand the emotions as part of communications. Telling people what to do creates compliance, not cooperation. Using empathy creates trust and credibility, a critical attribute of a leader.

As Warren Bennis says, “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” As stated by Don A. Sanders in his book, Go for the Green, “It is not the job of the leader to do the work; it is the job of the leader to assure that the work gets done. It is not the job of the leader to make every decision; it is the job of the leader to ensure that the best decision gets made. It is not the job of the leader to micro manage results; it is the job of the leader to ensure that goals are achieved. To accomplish these things requires ‘interpersonal flexibility’ and communications skills. Managers talk and leaders communicate. Communication is to leadership as the swing is to golf; everyone can do it, but few do it well.”

Part of my coaching services includes helping individuals improve their leadership and communication skills. Contact me if I can help your valued employees in these and other areas.

See you on the next tee, Hole #5 when we’ll talk about Process Improvement.