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To: Senior Management / Directors

From: Robel Tsegaye - CEO
Date: 8 August 22
Subject: Effective communication

“If I were to summarize in one sentence the single most important principle I have learned in
the field of interpersonal relations, it would be this: Seek first to understand, then to be
understood.” Dr. Stephen R. Covey

Communication can simply be defined as the delivering of information. But effective

communication is when that information is received by your audience. It doesn’t matter how
great your delivery is, your communication is ineffective if the information is not received by
your audience. Not only the information is needed to be received but also understood.
Furthermore, communication is mostly effective when the audience is able to take the
information given to them and relay it to another third party. This shows they truly receive
the information and understood it well.

In the 21st century effective communication is among the most important leadership skills. It
gives leaders the ability to effectively leverage their other skills, inspire their team and
execute to reach their full potential. Excellent communication helps build a solid foundation
based on trust, mutual respect and shared goals, creating strong relationships between
leaders and team members and empowering the entire team to achieve its objectives.

Communication skills are important because they have a ripple effect that positively impacts
all areas of the organization. Leaders who are skilled communicators are better able to build
trust between themselves and other members of the leadership team, helping to create
cohesion at the top, which generates organizational alignment and clear explanation of goals
and expectations. This trickles down to the rest of the organization, where strong
communication makes it easy for everyone to understand what the organizational vision and
goals are and where they fit inside that vision.

A year ago, we set up a one-year long leadership development program to raise awareness of
key leadership behaviours and traits and develop the future leaders of EEIG Construction that
will lead the business to become a great company. One of the major focuses of this program
has been developing the soft skills of our people. I would argue being an effective
communicator is the single most important human skill one has to develop – to this we have
conducted different sessions on it (trainings on effective communication, book reviews on the
subject of communication, i.e., Habit number 5 from The 7 Habits of Highly effective people
focuses entirely on this topic of communication, presentation skills, negotiation skill and
personal branding to name a few).

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As an organization -we have been working on effectively communicating by implementing

open door policies, creating team-building activities, participating in book review sessions,
and providing face-to-face communication (feedback), weekly meeting, stand up meeting,
business update presentations, monthly meetings, phone calls, company social media
(telegram, LinkedIn, email), letters etc.

Our open-door policy sets the tone to allow freedom of communication to narrow the gap
and deliver the right message between the leadership and our teams. It is important that
employees and business partners (clients, consultants, subcontractors, and suppliers) feel
welcomed to express their thoughts and air their concerns openly. The first and best form of
communication is face to face communication, verbal discussion. That is why whenever we
visit projects sites, senior management members are encouraged to meet stakeholders face
to face and address any issues towards solution.

And remember visibility is a form of communication. If we have to communicate well, we

shall not be out of sight. Don’t be known only by your emails and official letters. Be present,
visible, and available. Getting “out there” — consistently and predictably — lets others know
what kind of leader you are. People need to see and feel who you are to feel connected to
the work you want them to do.

Communication styles

Submissive Communication – You Win – I Lose. During submissive communication, we

prioritize the needs and feelings of others at our own personal cost. We do not effectively
express our own needs and default to self-sacrifice, avoidance, submissive agreement or
people pleasing. This can lead to being taken for granted, inequality in relationships, being
treated unfairly and exploitation by others.

Aggressive Communication – You Lose – I Win. During aggressive communication we

prioritise our own needs, preferences and feelings over the needs of other people. This can
be perceived as selfish, arrogant or self-centred. Other people can feel ignored, criticised or
bullied. Aggressive communication ultimately leads to inequality in relationships and a sense
of alienation.

Assertive Communication – I Win – You Win. During assertive communication the needs,
wishes and feelings of both sides are considered in a balanced and respectful manner. This
involves clearly presenting what we need and listening carefully to the needs of others.
Assertive communication is all about deal-making; achieving what we want by giving
something in return. It involves clarity of purpose, confidence and a willingness to flexibly
compromise. It is important for us as a company to communicate assertively.

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Necessary skills for Effective Communication

1. Listening skills - communication is the most important skill in life. We spend most of
our waking hours communicating. But consider this you’ve spent years learning how to
read & write, years learning how to speak. But what about listening? Clear
communication starts with active listening. If you’re just focused on how, you are
expressing yourself, chances are you are not listening or reacting to what others are
bringing to the table. An effective communicator uses a variety of listening styles. They
pay close attention to what’s being said and make others feel heard and considered.

When another person speaks, we’re usually “listening” at one of four levels. We may be
ignoring another person, not really listening at all. We may practice pretending. ‘’yeah, uh-
uhh, right’’. We may practice selective listening, hearing only certain parts of the
conversation. We may even practice attentive listening, paying attention & focusing
energy on the words that are being said. But very few of us ever practice the 5 th level, the
highest form of listening, empathic listening.

Empathy: “Seek first to understand” involves a very deep shift in paradigm. We typically
seek first to be understood. Being able to understand the feelings of those around you is
an integral part of being an effective communicator.

Empathic listening, is listening with intent to understand. It means seeking first to

understand, to really understand. It’s an entirely different paradigm. Empathic (from
empathy) listening gets inside another person’s frame of reference. The essence of
empathic listening is not that you agree with someone: it’s that you fully, deeply,
understand that person, emotionally as well as intellectually. When we listen with empathy
to another person, we give that person psychological air. And after that vital need is met,
we can then focus on influencing or problem solving. This impacts communication in every
area of life. Here, you listen with your ears, but you also, and more importantly, listen with
your eyes and with your heart.

2. Nonverbal communication skills: - in addition to verbal messages, effective

communication relies on nonverbal signs. Developing an awareness of our body
language and tone of voice will improve our messaging and presentation skills.
Communication experts estimate, in fact, that only 10% of our communication is
represented by the words we say. Another 30% is represented by our sounds, and 60%
by our body language.
3. Teamwork -the ability to actively engage in team-building and consistently collaborate
with co-workers is an important part of building our business communication skills. The
more we build strong relationships and bond with others in the workplace, the more

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effectively we’ll be able to communicate with them. Our team building activities are
good practice to encourage this.
4. Be clear and simple - Albert Einstein once said “if you can’t explain it simply you don’t
understand it enough.” For example: -

➢ HSE induction- Work in the construction sector presents many potential hazards,
including work at height, hazardous and dangerous substances, and on-site vehicles.
Poor communication of health and safety information can significantly increase the
number of accidents and incidents, which has a direct impact on productivity,
turnover, morale, legal and compensation costs, and reputation. In other words, if the
HSE team cannot make inductions clearly (including diagrams and demonstrating a
live exercise) and use language that is easily understood, the workforce will not be
able to be effective.
➢ Planning – a simple and clear plan communicated to all stake holders is powerful. That
is why we develop a simple and clear project execution strategy for all of our projects
– as the complected ones are not delivering the results we need.

5. Manage our own emotions - for the sake of clear communication and our own personal
wellbeing, it’s important to manage our emotions and express them appropriately in
context. Allowing strong emotions to unnecessarily creep into a professional setting
can lead to poor communication and conflict. Remember, everything we do manifest
through our communication. In our communication it’s not necessary we should have a
lot of information; we just need meaning and purpose.
6. Ask questions/feedback - as leaders, our teams rely on us to offer guidance and most
times this is achieved by focusing on the right kinds of questions. While issues are being
raised focus on the below three steps to acquire the expected result: (Frame the issue,
spark a debate, and drive sound decision)

Frame the issue:

➢ What: what is the decision to be made? What are we choosing between?

➢ The why: why is this an important question to answer? Why does the decision
warrant collective input & debate? What happens if it not addressed?
➢ The who: who will be involved in making the decision? Who will give input?
➢ The how: How will the final decision be made? Will it be made by majority rule?
Consensus? Or will you (someone else) make the final decision after others provide
input & recommendations?

Spark a debate: Initiate difficult but relevant conversations – addressing tough topics is
part of the job. With the right communication techniques, guide these discussions
productively from start to finish by incorporating multiple viewpoints to enrich the

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decision. Always be open to debate, create a culture of quick and constructive feedback.
Appreciate the person or the team for their input and keep the job going.

Drive sound decisions: Provide well-researched rationales for your decisions spanning end-
to-end taking operational, human resource, financial, legal/ compliance and morale
aspects into consideration. Document the processes of decision-making exercise for future
references and learning. Ask questions and listen not to respond but understand. We
should also make decisions by first engaging people in debate-not only to achieve sound
decisions but also to develop collective intelligence & ready the organization to execute.

7. Practice public speaking - if you are one of many people who are terrified of public
speaking, then you are not alone. Even people who are particularly good at public
speaking try to avoid it and become terrified at the thought of it. Public speaking could
be as simple as chairing a meeting, giving a presentation, or leading a discussion. On
the other hand, it could also mean taking to a podium and speaking to hundreds,
thousand.

Public speaking may sound scary, but it is a skillset that can be learnt. Regularly
speaking in front of a group will magnify your strengths and reduce your weaknesses
and force you to develop great communication habits.

To be an effective public speaker, you have got to focus on connecting with the people
you are trying to lead and inspire and up your public speaking game to exude
confidence

8. Reinforce – Reinforce – Reinforce – in construction it is important to communicate and

repeat messages often so us we can reinforce and ensure that everyone has understood
it correctly. Often people have a tendency to forget the first message and need be
reminded.

It is important to maintain good communication skills in order to avoid the following

problems: As an example: -

a) Increase costs
➢ Poor communication on methodology can cause quality issues.
➢ Poor communication around procurement such as materials information, and
quantities, can result in the purchase of incorrect, unusable or excess materials – all
of which will increase costs.
b) Decreased reputation with stakeholders (clients, consultants, subbies, suppliers)- poor
communication in managing changes on projects- can result in delays, disruptions and
conflicts. Hence it is important to maintain regular communication between the client,
consultant, subcontractors etc. The best way to avoid dispute is timely communicating
issues to all the stakeholders and solve problems as we progress in the project.

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Benefits of Effective Communication - When communication is effective, it leaves all parties

involved satisfied and feeling accomplished. By delivering messages clearly, there is no room
for misunderstanding or alteration of messages, which decreases the potential for conflict. In
situations where conflict does arise, effective communication is a key factor to ensure that
the situation is resolved in a respectful manner. How one communicates can be a make or
break factor in securing a job, maintaining a healthy relationship, and healthy self-expression.

The importance of strong communication runs deep within a business. Effective

communication saves time, emotions, and resource.

Here are key reasons we should be paying attention to: -

Team building (Better collaboration) - Building effective teams is really all about how those
team members communicate and collaborate together.
Improved productivity - better communication techniques help employees to better
comprehend their roles, which in turn helps employees perform their assigned duties better.
Gives everyone a voice - As mentioned above, employee satisfaction can rely a lot on their
having a voice and being listened to, whether it be in regards to an idea they have had or
about a complaint they need to make.
Innovation - Where employees are enabled to openly communicate ideas without fear of
ridicule or retribution, they are far more likely to bring their idea to the table.
Fewer workplace conflicts - Many conflicts originate with miscommunication. Poor
communication can create negative relationships or even toxic or hostile work environments.

In conclusion – we can set yearly goals, and put weekly plans to achieve our goals as we work
towards it, but without effective communication all the planning will be futile.
Communication is what makes our professional and personal relationships go smoothly. It's
how we show care, catalyze change, and get things done. It is by far the most important
human skill we need as leaders of this organization.

By working on ourselves on a set of skills including - nonverbal communication, emphatic

listening, the ability to manage stress in the moment, and the capacity to recognize and
understand our own emotions and those of the person we are communicating with – we can
build on our effectiveness as a leader by leveraging on effective communication. We all shall
understand that effective communication is an acquired skill that can grow with conscious
practice.

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