Effective Communication
The way we communicate with other people has a big impact on the effectiveness of the message we want to deliver.
How we deliver the message - the words we choose, our rhetoric, our body language - and the context changes the way we touch and influence people around us.
Recently I came across this interesting video on The Power of Words, from 2015 Toastmasters International public speaking champion Mohammed Qahtani. It is a 3-minute video that I highly recommend you watch.
In a leadership position, effective communication is an important ability to develop. Just to enlighten you a bit about the positive impact you can create with it:
- You can improve performance;
- You can help your circle of influence to overcome difficult situations;
- You can expand your circle of influence;
- You can promote and even shape organizational culture.
Communication as a Software Engineering Manager
According to James Stanier (Director of Engineering at Shopify), from Become an effective software engineering manager:
Remember that as a manager, your word has weight as it doesn’t only come from you: it comes from an established position in the company’s org chart. As a manager you represent yourself, your team, and your company as a whole. Be a role model for those around you.
In my experience as a software engineering manager, I see that, by communicating effectively, you shape your team’s behavior, impact their morale, and directly support them in developing their careers. And it is true the other way around; managers will struggle with poor communication.
Communication at VTEX
At VTEX, we strongly believe that high-performance communication drives the company to great results, so much so that a commitment to a future-based language and integrity in our communication is part of the company’s foundations.
Short-term results with no regard for such foundations even qualify as poor performance in our performance review cycles.
If you want to expand your influence, impact other people’s lives, or grow in your career as a leader, then you must invest in your communication skills.