How To Be Proactive And Consistent In Your Messaging

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how to be proactive and consistent in your messaging

How To Be Proactive And Consistent In Your Messaging

If you are leading a virtual team you want to make sure that you are clear and consistent in your messaging.  The way to do this is to be proactive. 

Regardless of the size of your team or their location, you have to show others that you are clear, consistent, and reliable. 

Your team should never be left wondering how they can reach you.  You also need to make sure that if your team needs more information, they can easily find it. This is why learning how to be proactive and consistent in your messaging is so important. 

1. Communication times

One way that you can create consistency is by carving out designated communication times. You can do this by setting up regular video meetings at the same time each week or month.

  • Weekly, Biweekly, or Monthly meetings – Depending on how often you need to meet with certain members of your team, this will determine the frequency and length of the meetings.
  • Set Time – Your meetings should also have a set time that recurs every week or every other week depending on how often you’ve determined you need to meet.  Consistency is key here. Your team will feel appreciated knowing you are always setting aside time to meet with them.
  • Show up – It is important that you set a time that you know you will be able to attend!  It does you and your team no good if you aren’t able to attend the meetings that you set.  Of course, there will be times when something comes up, however, you need to make meeting with your team a priority.

Remember, you aren’t in an office setting.  You won’t be able to easily group a few people together on the fly for a meeting.  Creating this regular schedule is key to your visibility.  Just because you don’t get to see your team in person doesn’t mean that you should let your executive presence slide.  

 

2. Set Clear Expectations

Once you have a set schedule with your team, it’s time to decide what your meetings will entail. 

proactive consistent messagingYou will want to be very clear with what people can expect when they step into this meeting. This can include regular:

  • Departmental updates
  • Presentations
  • Q+A time
  • Sharing of ideas 
  • Recognizing other people within the team

Whatever it is – set the expectation.  When you set the expectation from the beginning, it will also help you lead your team more effectively.  You will be able to intercept any off-topic conversations or questions by reminding your team of the reason for the meeting.  It will help divert certain questions to more appropriate settings for discussion.

 

3. Be Proactive

As a leader managing a team remotely, it is critical to keep your lines of communication open.  You will need to set expectations on where people can find you and when they can expect to hear from you.

Because you won’t have the option of simply walking over to someone’s desk for a quick interface, you will want to be proactive in your communication.  

proactive consistent messaging

  • Think ahead – You’re busy doing your job, but it is critical for your team to hear from you before anyone else.  A breakdown in communication can make team members feel undervalued – this is especially true when leading a virtual team.
  • Gather Your Information–  Gather the information that your team is going to need to hear. Do this ahead of time and not last minute. The more prepared you are the better your communications will be.
  • Communications Channel – You may have determined that you will have video meetings at certain times on certain days, but can your team reach you outside of that? Make sure your team has access to you for all other questions or issues that may arise and let them know how.

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Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways we can help you:

  1. Discover your communications style so you know where to start. Over 4,000 people have found theirs here.
  2. Attend our monthly communication workshop to build communications confidence (new topics: public speaking, advocating for yourself, building credibility, etc) here.
  3. Get your brand in front of 43k+ people by sponsoring our newsletter or Soulcast Media | LIVE LinkedIn events [contact: hello@soulcastmedia.com]

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