How Does Communication Influence a Team?
Effective team dynamics depend on strong communication skills. With good communication, team members understand what's required and can articulate the solutions to various problems. Poor communication raises walls between team members, exacerbates frustrations, and wastes precious time. A team leader needs to understand the specific ways communication influences his team in order to make the best use of all his resources.
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Roles
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Every team member needs to fulfill a specific role: some handle design work, some cover logistics, some work on promotion and some need to ensure that every step in the process is met in a timely fashion. Communication allows team members to fully understand their jobs and go about them with no confusion. It also helps to smooth over any gray areas where two or more roles overlap, and to prevent team members from resenting perceived intrusions into "their" fields.
Feedback
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Communication facilitates a healthy and open atmosphere which allows each member to provide strong input. Team members need to sound off when a problem arises, tell other members of the team about their concerns and express ideas for solutions, even if it doesn't involve their field of expertise. If they feel they can speak up, they won't be inclined to ignore small issues--and thus won't allow them to grow into bigger ones.
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Clarity
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All projects have deadlines, and the hands of time don't slow down just because they're inconvenient. Proper communication skills allow team members to convey vital information quickly and concisely, with no unnecessary lags in time. If the team can't be clear with each other, then some members may inadvertently waste time on superfluous tasks. More importantly, individual team members may grow frustrated with each other if they can't communicate quickly and concisely, making them less willing to work together and creating unnecessary problems.
Changes
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Very few plans ever go off without a hitch. When working on a project, you'll experience unforeseen challenges and problems which you cannot possibly anticipate. When they arise, you need to identify them quickly and come up with effective solutions, both of which require good communication skills. If you can't communicate effectively, unexpected changes can overwhelm your project, or at least delay it unnecessarily.
Decisions
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While all team members should be free to speak their minds, when the time comes to make a decision, it falls to the team leader to ensure it's implemented effectively. He needs to give clear, concise instructions and leave no doubt about the direction in which the team should go. He needs to balance his direction with input from the rest of the team, but also needs to be firm once a decision is made--both of which become easier with good communication.
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References
- Photo Credit communication image by Louise McGilviray from Fotolia.com
