Are You A Trustworthy Manager?
6. Communicate, and do it clearly and openly. I appreciate the advice I received from Portland General's highly respected CEO Peggy Fowler several years ago. She said there were three keys to being a great leader and manager: 1) communication; 2) communication; and 3) (guess what?) communication.
As a general principle it is better to over communicate rather than under communicate. If we fail to communicate adequately the gap is filled by the grapevine (i.e., rumor mill)—and the rumor mill is invariably negative and demoralizing.
Wes Friesen is a proven leader and developer of high performing teams and has extensive experience in both the corporate and non-profit worlds. A former in-plant manager, he is also an award-winning university instructor and speaker, and is the president of Solomon Training and Development, which provides leadership, management and team building training. His book, Your Team Can Soar! contains 42 valuable lessons that will inspire you, and give you practical pointers to help you—and your team—soar to new heights of performance. Your Team Can Soar! can be ordered from Xulonpress.com/bookstore or wesfriesen.com. Wes can be contacted at wesmfriesen@gmail.com.
