Communication is the key to successfully leading an organization. Beyond this, there are also various distinct communication styles in leadership for aspiring leaders to consider. The communication style that you adopt may vary based on your industry or position in an organization — but regardless, it can have a significant impact on team dynamics, productivity, and overall success.
What Are Communication Styles?
Communication styles in leadership refer to the approach that leaders take when providing employees with information and giving directives on the job. According to research published in the Journal of Business Psychology, a leader’s communication style is defined by the interpersonal behaviors used in order to improve relationships in the workplace and encourage the team to work toward its goals.
Communication has long been considered a central component of leadership, but the types of communication styles preferred in the modern workplace have evolved over the years, namely toward less authoritative styles.
Why Are Communication Styles Important for Leadership?
Leaders are often required to focus on the big picture and develop long-term goals for their team or organization. In turn, they spend less time on tasks that help the team reach short-term goals and more time delegating to the other professionals who are on their team. The fact that leaders are typically responsible for assigning tasks and motivating their employees highlights the crucial role that clear and consistent communication plays in their overarching approach to leadership.
An article on how transformational leaders communicate from Harvard Business Review emphasizes that communication is not merely a soft skill for top leaders in business anymore; it is an art to be mastered and honed to relay your ideas to the world in ways that resonate with people. The communication style you adopt impacts the way you interact with your team, the decisions and innovations you enact, and the way you resolve conflicts at your organization.
Key Communication Styles in Leadership
According to Forbes, some key communication styles in leadership to consider include:
Listening
Listening is considered by many experts to be the most critical communication style for leaders. On the surface, listening may seem like a counterintuitive communication style, as it does not require you to actively provide information or directives. However, as a leader, a listening communication style allows you to be open and accessible. By actively listening to your employees, you will be able to build trust and gather relevant information.
It’s best to balance this communication style with other styles, though, as relying too heavily on listening may make you seem passive or indecisive. Still, when you adopt a listening communication style, you are making a commitment to listen more than you speak, which is a highly desirable trait in a leader.
Coaching
The coaching communication style is ideal for leaders who are working with a team they hope to develop. This communication style requires you to advise people rather than simply direct them. In addition to setting goals for your team and providing deadlines for specific tasks, with this communication style, you will also give them a framework or advice for how they can reach those goals. It’s an excellent way to empower your employees and foster development within your organization.
Some leaders find that this communication style does not come naturally to them, so if you’d like to adopt it, focus on developing this style over time with a bit of practice and patience.
Teaching
While quite similar to the coaching communication style, the teaching communication style is a strategic approach usually utilized when an employee is struggling with a specific problem. Whereas the coaching communication style is designed to empower employees, the teaching communication style provides direct instruction and support. It allows a leader to share the knowledge they have learned along the way while giving them the opportunity to develop employees.
It is best to use this approach sparingly because relying on the teaching communication style too frequently could come across as overly directive. Employees may feel like you do not trust them to understand or handle a process, which can make them feel less valued in the workplace.
Advising
The advising communication style is one of the most common leadership communication styles. The hallmark of this style is that it allows you to provide your team with guidance and share your expertise. However, it still gives your employees the freedom to try their own creative approaches and techniques. If an employee comes to you with a challenge they are working through, you could rely on the advising style to look at the issue from a new perspective. Share your knowledge and insight, but give them the opportunity to make the final decision.
Although it may be one of the most effective communication styles in leadership, the advising style could inadvertently create dependency among your employees. Employ this style in a way that lets your team know that you are available to help but that you also trust them to work through issues on their own.
Motivating
The motivating communication style can notably improve workplace morale and create a positive culture in the office setting. Leaders who rely on this communication style are likely to encourage their employees on a regular basis and believe in the power of positive reinforcement. It’s a communication style that can inspire and motivate employees while simultaneously boosting morale, but it’s wise to recognize its limits as well. When overused, the motivated communication style can be a bit exhausting for employees, making them feel like you are overly enthusiastic.
Directing
The directing communication style is a clear, consistent, and effective communication style for leaders, and employees often appreciate it when their leaders adopt this approach. This style provides the team with clarity and ensures operational efficiency. However, it also should be balanced with other communication styles, as over-dependence on directing may leave employees feeling micromanaged.
Connecting Communication Styles to Leadership Approaches
The most effective leaders find ways to blend their communication style with their preferred leadership approach to become well-rounded and impactful leaders. According to research published in the Journal of Business Psychology, these are several of the ways in which leadership approaches can be connected to communication styles:
Charismatic Leadership and Communication
A leader who has charisma is going to be a naturally effective communicator. If you align with the charismatic leadership approach, you might use the motivating communication style on a regular basis while also incorporating elements of the coaching or teaching styles.
Task-Oriented Leadership and Communication
If consistency and clarity are your top priorities, then you are likely to consider yourself a task-oriented leader. These leaders frequently leverage the directing and advising communication styles in order to provide their employees with clear instructions and achievable goals.
Human-Centered Leadership and Communication
The human-centered leadership style prioritizes relationship-building in the workplace. If you are a human-oriented leader, you will likely rely on the listening and coaching communication styles because these approaches emphasize empathy, understanding, and collaboration.
When to Use Each Communication Style
Listening: Building Trust and Understanding
Active listening is the foundation of this communication style, and it’s essential to use this skill during conflict resolution and feedback sessions. As a leader, you should use active listening to gather diverse perspectives from your team. Good listeners also make for leaders who are more attentive and aware — and thus more likely to have a positive, transformational impact on a team’s well-being and satisfaction.
Coaching: Empowering and Developing
The coaching style is an ideal approach when working with your team members directly to help them overcome challenges or improve their overall self-efficacy. It’s an excellent option for promoting individual skill development that can lead to organization-wide innovation and opportunities.
A study from the Frontiers in Psychology journal identified a positive correlation between coaching leadership and employee motivation, performance, and creativity. The authors state that coaching leadership “focuses on growing and supporting organizational members and refers to leaders’ actions that maintain positive relationships with organizational members and help them grow by drawing out their potential capabilities, unlike traditional leadership by direction and control around vertical hierarchies.”
Teaching: Sharing Knowledge and Expertise
As a more strategic and direct approach, the teaching communication style should be reserved for specific situations in which additional instruction is required. You may want to consider using the teaching communication style when onboarding new employees, introducing new procedures in the workplace, or facilitating growth among your team.
To take it a step further, you could even consider introducing analogies and descriptions that “stick” to help explain or reinforce complex concepts in a way everyone can more easily understand. On the same note, the most persuasive and impactful business leaders use shorter, simpler words and sentences to talk about complicated things. As described in a Harvard Business Review article on how transformational leaders communicate, “When you introduce a new or abstract idea, your audience will automatically search for something familiar to help them make sense of it. Introduce a novel metaphor and beat them to the punch.”
Advising: Providing Guidance and Support
Similar to the teaching style, the advising communication style is preferable when offering direct support to employees. You may want to rely on this style when team members seek expertise or need strategic direction.
Motivating: Inspiring Action and Enthusiasm
In an attempt to improve the workplace culture or to boost morale among your team, you can rely on the motivating communication style. This approach is most effective during key moments, such as when the team is working through an organizational change or when you are celebrating success together. In regard to fostering a sense of dedication to shared goals and visions, Harvard Business Review details how great leaders “make mission your mantra to align teams.” When actions are centered on a core purpose, and that purpose is repeated and emphasized consistently, the mission gains strength and impact.
Directing: Providing Clarity and Structure
At a time when the team needs clear, concise, and structured instructions, the directing communication style is preferred. This approach is used most often during crisis management, when clear-cut directions are necessary to move forward.
Adapting Your Communication Style
As a leader, your communication style is not necessarily static; rather, you will inevitably need to adjust your approach according to different scenarios or objectives.
The Importance of Self-Awareness
Before you can successfully leverage numerous communication styles as a leader, engage in self-reflection regarding how you navigate the workplace (and even the world at large). Being aware of your natural communication style and the impact it has on others can help you adapt according to the needs of your team. Seeking feedback to improve your interactions is key to self-awareness, too. A study from the Frontiers in Psychology journal uncovered a positive relationship between a leader’s self-awareness and the likelihood for individuals under these leaders to eventually emerge as leaders themselves.
Developing Flexibility
You will never rely on one communication style or approach for your entire career as a leader. Being flexible and resilient helps you utilize various communication styles throughout your tenure, depending on the needs of your team or the current circumstances.
Understanding Your Audience
By becoming familiar with your team and their needs as both professionals and individuals, you can begin to develop a tailored communication style. Before determining which approach to take, assess the situation and evaluate your audience so you can deliver the right messaging in the most effective way.
Learn More About Leadership Communication Styles at Johnson & Wales University
At Johnson & Wales University, we provide students with the opportunity to explore their own leadership and communication styles, ultimately helping them become confident and effective leaders. We offer an online Master of Business Administration – Organizational Leadership degree as well as an online Master of Science in Organizational Psychology, both of which empower students with the skills needed for leadership positions across a wide range of industries.
For more information about completing your degree online, complete the Request Info form, call 855-JWU-1881, or email [email protected].