Seek first to understand, and then to be understood – Stephen Covey

One time while having lunch with a group of managers, one of them asked me, “Why are you so motivating and kind with agents; however with us, you seem more tough? Why is that?” My immediate response was, “Well, you’re a leader and you signed up for this.” Thankfully I have adjusted that response over time but the point I was trying to make was, as leaders we are here to serve our teams and not the other way around.  And to better serve them we must understand them and and learn how to communicate with them in an effective way.

I believe that when leaders communicate there has to be an objective to what you’re talking about.  And that objective should be to help guide, coach and direct them with the goal of influencing behaviors.  There has to be a clear focus and agreed-upon goals.

One of my favorite quotes is “Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger.” While it took me many years to improve this, I believe communication from a leader to an agent should never be a monologue.  It should always be a dialog. People have to know you care enough to listen to them. And while listening does not come naturally, you have to practice it just like you do with everything you want to improve in.  We must be intentional in our efforts to improve our communication skills. I should know, I have to practice it every day.