"I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
Robert McCloskey
American Author

On March 27, 1977, at the Tenerife airport in the Canary Islands, two 747 aircraft collided on the runway resulting in the loss of 583 lives. With the exception of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2012, the Tenerife mishap is the worst in aviation history. Official reports list unclear communication as a major factor.

Effective communication is at the top of a short list of leadership essentials. Disasters are caused by poor communication and while good news is seldom reported, good communication has avoided many potential disasters. I'm sure that everyone reading this is pretty sure they are good communicators but, guess what, no one is ever a good communicator all the time.

Although good communication is situational, there are some basics to more effective communication and therefore, more effective leadership.

First, remember there are two sides to the communication equation. We usually think of sending but more important is receiving. Listening is critical to good communication and is way too often overlooked. Leaders who fail to listen often head off in the wrong direction, solving the wrong problems and usually creating new ones.

Listening should not be passive. Listen actively! Ask questions, clarify points. Repeat back to make sure you really understand the message. Leaders expect this from other people, but sometimes don't practice it themselves.

Part of active listening starts even before the message is sent. Leaders must be receptive to any message, even one that contradicts their own opinions or experience. A good way to approach any conversation is with the belief that the other person, or people, in the conversation may have a vital piece of information that you haven't considered. It's best to always assume you're not the smartest person in the room.

Second, be clear in what you're communicating. I worked for a leader once who didn't understand this point. Asking for clarification usually just garbled the message even more. After a meeting with this person we often had to get together, each one of us telling the others what we thought we'd heard and come up with a consensus of what we thought was the direction. Don't make your people do that! Be clear and concise. This is especially important when working with people at a distance or with different cultures or languages. Don't be afraid to ask if people understand, but don't ask, "Does everyone understand?" That question is useless. Instead ask what the person's initial thoughts are on how they will proceed or a similar question that will give you an indication that they do or don't understand.

Third, don't be afraid to follow up. Leaders are sometimes a little hesitant to follow up for fear of appearing to not trust the worker or being seen as a micromanager. To avoid that perception set specific times for follow-up. Then, do a lot more listening than talking. These sessions will help you ensure things are on track and provide minor course corrections immediately to avoid having to fix big problems later.

Finally, get help. As I said at the beginning, none of us is so good at communicating that we can't improve. There are two good sources of help. One is feedback from peers, the boss, and even your own workers. Actively solicit that feedback and carefully consider what they say. The second source is outside help. If you do a lot of speaking you might consider a speech coach. No matter how much communicating you do, consider joining a Toastmaster's group. This international organization has helped many, people improve their communication skill.

Are you a good communicator or is a disaster in your future?