As a leader in business you always need to know how to build the levels of confidence in your employees. The good news is that staying confident is something that you can help employees do. These tips give you specific ways that you can develop employee abilities and increase their self awareness for the benefit of the company.   

Listening is one of the most important skills for any leader to develop. It is more important than speaking skills. Listening forms the foundation for good interaction between leaders and employees and even gives you resources for making presentations to your people. Learn to listen to the people who work for you. Then let them know you were listening as you appropriate communicate using their words, ideas, and suggestions.

A confident employee is prepared for the tasks assigned. Preparation means having the right training and support in order to complete what’s expected with confidence.  Provide your employees with opportunities to upgrade their skills so they stay on the cutting edge in their field.

Employees become more confident when they have a mentor. A mentor is a person who has wisdom to share in personal and professional levels. Employees won’t learn everything just by doing it.  It’s the nuances of company life that have to be learned from a mentor that are so important.  Research shows that women and minorities seldom get adequate mentoring in organizations. Be aware of where you can serve as a mentor to those who are building the firm.

A confident leader will network with people in the organization.  That doesn’t mean spending a lot of time with any one person or group. But it does mean taking time to shake hands with some workers, go to various departments for personal updates or writing a note of encouragement for a job well done to an individual or group or team.

Take time to assess the personal and professional background of your employees and realize how many skills and abilities they bring to the company. It’s easy to overlook skilled people when there are important tasks to be done. Instead of going outside of the company to find professionals, know who is already in the company and assign challenging tasks that highlight their capabilities. This will greatly enhance confidence and let others know you recognize the value of your employees.

Let employees stay on top of the latest technology and continue to increase the company positioning in pertinent areas. Expose them to courses that increase skills using the benefits of both Internet based and offline classes in almost any topic. Don’t allow your employees to fall behind in their professional knowledge base when it’s simple to stay ahead of the learning curve by getting them needed training and education.  

These brief tips provide important ideas that you can use to increase the levels of confidence in your employees. You can help your people become stronger workers and more loyal to the company by doing simple, yet powerful things that let them know you care.

Do you think communication is mostly done through words? What if you found out that communication is actually 70% non-verbal?  That means it’s your body language including your movements, eyes and even hands that say things more often and louder than your mouth. The ability to communicate with clarity and effectiveness is an imperative skill for organizational leaders.  Here are important ways to make your communication more productive and effective.

 1. Provide clear information

Passing information from one person to the next is the purpose of workplace communication.  If your communication isn’t complete and accurate, it can cause confusion instead of clarity. Carefully plan your communication to be sure you are passing along the correct information and the right amount so those you are communicating with understand what you want to say.  

2. Communicate honestly

People know when something isn’t adding up. If you try to communicate something that isn’t totally true and honest it will eventually be revealed.  It’s difficult to maintain dishonest communication in the workplace (or anywhere else) because it gets too complicated to hold all of the stories together. Instead of saying things that aren’t totally true, just say less.  Speak the truth and leave the rest for later or don’t say it at all if it’s not true and honest.

3.  Match non-verbal and verbal communication styles

Remember, communication is both non-verbal and verbal.  Sometimes, a person says one thing but acts in a different way.  For instance, it’s not uncommon to hear someone say “Yes” but shake his head in a horizontally which indicates “No” in a non-verbal way (in the US culture that is).  This sends mixed messages.  Bring your communication together by being conscious that your non-verbal and verbal messages are in agreement.  

4. Learn to Listen

Listening is an important communication skill that is seldom done well.  In order to actually share information with another person, you have to hear what is being communicated. This way you can respond to the actual message.  Most conflict stems from poor listening.  To help learn how to listen well, take time to repeat what you here from the other person. Simply paraphrase what you heard to verify accuracy. This will cut down on conflict and vastly increase the effectiveness of your communications.

5.  Ask questions

Asking questions is a good way to verify what you hear so you respond appropriately.  Questions let the other person have the chance to clarify what they said. It also allows you to hear a response in a different way or just hear it again in order to be sure of what you heard.  Make sure your questions relate specifically to what is being said. Don’t change the conversation by bringing in a question on a totally different matter.  Also use questions to gather quick additional points that help you understand the conversation.  

6. Let other’s talk

Have you ever been stuck in a meeting when only one person did all of the talking?  Some people even go so far as to ask a question and provide the answer?  Few things are as irritating as having a person dominate a conversation. A conversation is a two way event at a minimum. Remember to let the others speak.  Even if you have a lot to say, dominating a conversation becomes a monologue, not a conversation.  Solicit opinions, ask for response, and bring others into the conversation.  Sometimes, all it takes is to be quiet for a moment.

7. Talk about the hard stuff when necessary

Do you ever avoid saying what needs to be said or avoid a difficult conversation altogether?  Not saying something doesn’t make a situation go away.  Instead, things usually just get worse.  Not communicating can also cause more stress and trauma in a situation.  Instead of avoiding difficult communications, sit down and plan out what you’re going to say.  Actually write down the important points in order to feel comfortable about what you have to say.  Make sure the tone you use is open and non-confrontational in order to encourage feedback from the other person.  Conversations aren’t always fun but getting the words out will relieve the tension and let the matter move forward.

Obviously there’s a lot more that can be said about communications in the workplace.  Starting with these top seven tips provides a good beginning to making you a better workplace communicator. Remember, practice makes perfect.  Use daily opportunities to practice your communication skills until you feel comfortable in any situation that arises in the organization.