When it comes to establishing drama free teams in the workplace, nothing is more important than solid communication tactics. Communication is the bedrock of trust, and a team who trusts its leader is more productive, efficient, and content in their roles. That leads to higher retention, loyalty, and engagement.
What more could an organization want?
Establishing a positive communication strategy within your teams is certainly not easy, but there are four strategies that can effectively yield powerful results when put in place. The irony of these steps is they can also apply to any kind of relationship in your life, including marriages, friendships, and family relationships.
Let’s dive in:
1. Always speak about others in an honoring way.
When someone makes us mad or “wrongs” us in any way, the natural human thing is to vent. We are willing to vent to anyone who will listen sometimes! However, if you want to have a drama free team, you have to forget venting–all it does is stir up more anger and position someone else in a negative light. If you need to communicate a problem, go to the person involved who can actually help you fix it or learn from their mistake.
2. Be honest with your team always, but do it in a kind way.
This strategy pairs well with the first and is a key way to deal with conflict in the workplace. This is important to consider in light of content AND context (aka, body language). If you are kind in your communication, you can speak your mind. Clarity is kindness.
3. Listen in the way the other person needs, and not the way that you need.
It is a common pitfall to examine others through our own lens. But if drama is defined as the tragic expression of an unmet need, your biggest job in listening is to uncover what that unmet need might be. This is called competent listening and can be achieved by asking active, specific questions like, “what do you need?”
4. Remember the other person doesn’t know what you are thinking or what you need until you tell them.
This may be the hardest strategy of all, but a crucial one to move forward with less drama and more productivity. Once the other person understands where you are coming from and the truth you are sharing, they will have more buy-in with the vision you are working towards together.
Communication is never easy, but by employing one or all of these strategies, you can use it to help build a stronger, drama-free team.
