How do you communicate effectively with your team

In my essay today, here is a million-dollar question.   How do you communicate effectively with your team?  I have noticed, during my time in corporate, how some teams would drive to success easily and others would drive in chaos to archive their goals.

I always asked myself, why would one team work in harmony and the other in anarchy?

One of the major keys is communication. When a team has open communication the information flows easily and effortlessly providing a perfect symbiosis between each member. The team can anticipate any changes and make appropriate modification when needed. Everyone is comfortable to share ideas, even disagreements are part of the process. At the end of the day they are all putting their personal agendas aside to work together.

On the other side of the spectrum you have a team that is struggling from the beginning. They are disorganized, information is not flowing among the team. Some co-workers are withholding information, thinking by doing this they can hold “power” over others. But, in fact, what they do not realized is the less they are sharing, the more negative impact it has on the project. Milestones will not be meet on time, frustration will arise among the team to the point it becomes dreadful to work together.  Now everything becomes counterproductive.

What team would you rather be part of?

The lack of communication has always been an issue across corporate.

It starts at the top, if management doesn’t provide adequate information this is where you can count on issues to arise. Leaving co-workers in the dark is not going to be in the best interest of the company. It may benefit you in a short term but in the long term it will be to your disadvantage to do so. People are not going to want to work with you. A negative energy is now prevalent in the work place.

How do you change that?

Change your behavior. Lay out all the information necessary for the project. Do not “piece meal” information. Provide the total picture to the team with all the information necessary for the project so it can be completed on time and without turmoil. The more you open the flow of communication the better the interaction with your team or even across the company. Open communication will get better results and cooperation from everyone. You could be surprised how much you can archive when your team is in a state of true communication.
Communication is the most power tool you will ever have. Don’t waste it by letting your ego interfering with it.