Who would choose you as their executive?

Today's employees increasingly choose their next boss instead of their next company.

If you are the boss, what are you going to do about that?

My advice is to do something about your communication. You must be able to communicate that you ARE an executive worth working for. That you are strong, because you reach planned objectives and results, create a healthy culture at the work place and hold on to skilled and happy employees. And that you are able to avoid the work place becoming a play ground or a chicken hen.

Is that difficult? At least it is not complicated. 8 good points of advice handle most of this task. And what if you are not a born leader? The only answer to that is that even though you were not one from the onset, you can become one - but only through practice.

1st advice: Use your authority
Your way of behaving, the strength in what you say and the way you use your body language often means more than what you say. Be self-confident and communicate with your employees in a way that you would like to be addressed. By doing so you become a role model for your organisation's communication, internally as well as externally.

2nd advice: Show what you stand for
Communication is stronger when your employees know who you are and what you stand for. Whether it is called branding, values or vision does not matter, as long as the meaning is clear, easily understandable in relation to the employee's working day and inspires the individual to do more.

3rd advice: Use your employees. They would like you to
Management communication has to be two-way, and everyone would like to be heard. Find your good channels among your employees and listen attentively remembering to praise them for their ideas and tell the rest of the company who was the source of the great idea. By doing so you are heeding the Jante law and motivating everyone!

4th advice: Do not treat everybody equally. They are not the same
Understand your employees' general psychological behaviour and motivational pattern. Adapt your message, form of communication and strategy to the person or group you face. Preparation can be decisive for the success of spontaneous communication.

5th advice: Adhere to the '80 / 20' rule: 20 % messages and 80 % conversation
Use only 20 % on information, but 80 % on communication. Communication creates action through impact on thoughts and feelings. Everyone can gather information themselves (but provide efficient sources of information, e.g. a strong intranet) but the impact of your communication can create the required actions!

6th advice: Be brave, Admit mistakes, and that you cannot do or know everything
Communicate openly and honestly. You will not always be able to tell what is going to happen. OK, so tell it; explain why and when you can. Everyone makes mistakes. Do not think it won't be seen, but admit and explain what you intend to do about it, and how you will ensure it doesn't happen again.

7th advice: Do not exaggerate. They know what is important
If the message is important the communication has to express this; but do not fall into the 'cry wolf' trap. There has to be a sensible match between the packaging and the importance of the message. Technology can help with many things, but it has to be applied the right way.

8th advice: Communication is a competition for attention. Win it!
The employees' working day is a confusion of messages from systems, colleagues and the outside world. The competition is immense, and your employees choose for themselves which messages to listen to and how to interpret them. As a leader it is your task to win that competition by getting your message across in the right way, getting everyone onboard and giving them focus and direction so that ultimately you have a motivated and dedicated workforce willing to follow you wherever you need to take them.