Do you (really) talk with your team?

It’s up to you to initiate the conversation …   

Giving your team members leeway to express themselves means you’ll give up some control but you are not giving up your role: it is your responsibility not only to open the dialogue but also to set the tone.  
 
Does being open and setting guidelines seem mutually exclusive? Absolutely not, because it is up to you to construct the organizational dialogue. And its frame. In fact, the confidence of your team depends on (among other things) your ability to engage in conversation on a regular basis about important issues rather than letting information, or even rumors, circulate horizontally.  

… And take it to its conclusion   

First, you should clearly identify the intended goal of the conversation in business terms. You also need to define the objective of the dialogue and discuss it with your team, who will then be responsible for leading it towards the results aligned with these objectives. If preparation and spontaneity seem contradictory to you, think again   

Developing a well-thought-out strategic plan, then sharing it with all your team members – for a fully “enlightened” organization – will lay the foundations for a fluid and interactive dialogue with a clear vision. “This sense of direction is what gives the communication effort added value and crucial strategic importance.”  

But you must still create conversational intimacy   

Two-way communication is based on “conversational intimacy”: a high level of trust and openness between internal actors that transcends hierarchical, structural, cultural, and even geographical barriers. 

If you speak directly, even acknowledging your own weaknesses, you will close the gap with your team — a gap that can hinder the organizational dialogue you need.  

Based on 
Talk, Inc. by Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind, (Harvard Business Review Press, 2012)