April 14, 2021
We’re a few months into 2021, a year that couldn’t come soon enough for many, and we wanted to take a look at what content has resonated most with you – our readers – so far this year. There’s a great variety of posts to help you lead and communicate. Top content from Q1 ranges from how to show your employees you care and ways to smile more, to how to differentiate communication from information and effectively plan your next communication in 5 minutes. There’s also guidance on how to create a line of sight to the strategy for your employees, building feedback channels, strategic messaging, and more.
So, in case you missed any of these, here’s the top content others found most helpful in Q1 of 2021.
10 Most-Read Leadership & Communication Blogs in Q1 2021
- 5 Must-Do Steps to Share Expectations With Your Team
Deadlines are looming. You’re busy planning and setting responsibilities. With so much going on every day, are you forgetting to share your expectations with your employees? Are you simply assuming your staff understands what you expect of them?
- How to Create Line of Sight for Your Employees
To drive engagement, help employees personalize strategy and understand how they fit in. I've written before about research from a myriad of sources that shows that employees overall don’t understand company strategy. Said another way, they don’t get how they fit in. And that’s a missed opportunity.
- How to Effectively Plan Your Next Communication in 5 Minutes
In organizations, the best leadercommunicators bring their vision to life in a way that connects employee needs to company priorities and business goals. They not only plan how they’ll communicate, but also ensure they are delivering a strategic message that will inspire employees to positive action.
- 7 Benefits of Developing Messaging Strategically
One of the attributes of best-in-class organizations is that message development is strategic, consistent, and responsive to audience needs. In other words, there’s a Strategic Messaging Methodology in place as one of the standard operating practices of the internal communications function.
- Show You Care: 4 Must-Have Strategies to Build Feedback Channels in Your Organization
Employees who are highly engaged in their work perform better than their less-committed counterparts and boost the organization’s bottom line. Not surprisingly, building employee engagement involves two-way communication – both to and from employees.
- 4 Ways to Differentiate Communication from Information
We’ve established that leaders are always communicating—even when they don’t realize they are. It’s fair to say that 80 to 90 percent of the average leader’s week is spent communicating. Yet, how much time are those same leaders spending on planning for those communications, and thinking about the messages that they send?
- Trust as a Powerful Tool for Leading Change
Jumping off a high dive. Getting behind the wheel for the first time. Giving your first speech in front of a large crowd. When you look back at some of the scariest things you’ve done in life, chances are a big reason you achieved them was trust.
- 6 Proven Ways to Smile More
A client recently realized that she wants to smile more. Having seen herself on a number of corporate videos and in virtual meetings, she’s made a note that when she smiles in her delivery, she conveys her excitement more naturally, is more motivating, and overall, comes off as more like herself.
- 5 Simple Yet Powerful Steps to Show Your Employees You Care About Them
Now more than ever, leaders play a pivotal role in connecting, calming and inspiring their teams. Employees also have a lot on their minds, and often a mix of emotions about themselves, their families and their work situation. A little empathy and thoughtful communication can go a long way to help employees know you care.
- A Quick Formula to Tell the Best Stories
Sometimes leaders get so caught up with grabbing an audience’s attention that they miss the point. For instance, a personal anecdote is great but only if it connects to what you’re trying to communicate.
How might one of these resources help you lead and communicate even better in 2021?
—David Grossman
Plan your communication—whether it's to a colleague, your team or company-wide—in as little as 5 minutes. Click the image below to download your copy of this free tool—Take 5™ Planning Template.
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