A Guide To Improving Instruction Giving

By Ruth Graham


If one takes up a position of leadership, then he has to know how to lead the group that is going to be under him. One of the things that he needs to really learn is communication skills which include properly giving instructions to all the subordinates. If one wants to become an effective leader he needs to put some effort in improving instruction giving to his people.

The art of delegation first lies in the subtle art of proper communication. One has to know how to properly communicate the message to the people under him in a way that is clear, concise, and understandable. This will make him be able to do better in work and also avoid miscommunications of any kind with people.

When one becomes a leader, he has to first stop being in the mindset that his employees or his subordinates are there to serve him. That said, he should put a lot of emphasis on training his employees. He should never assume that his employees know what he wants them to do even if he has not given them proper instructions or trained them yet. One of the ways to do this is to avoid jargon for newbies and create a good training program at the onset.

Going on to training and orientation, this is an extremely important part to take note of. At the onset of employment or recruitment, leaders must put together a good training program to get the people ready for their work. As mentioned above, subordinates are not assumed to know what they are not taught which is why training is crucial.

Next, one has to break down instructions in bullet or number form so that his subordinates can see the steps. This is to ensure that everything is featured step by step and that there is no confusion whatsoever. Also, do not speak too fast otherwise the subordinate might not understand.

One other tip that one can do is to make sure that the instructions are written down or sent as a soft copy. A lot of managers send emails with complete instructions and have them CCd to other staff so that there is no blaming. This also helps bosses keep on check who takes responsibility for the tasks.

Finally, as a leader, one has to create the culture of openness and cultivate the attitude of asking questions no matter how stupid they may sound. The failure of most leaders is that they criticize their people for asking amateurish questions which will eventually make them scared to ask anything at all. Cultivating a clear path of communication is the best way to good results.

As one can see, giving instructions is not just about telling people to do this and to do that. Rather, it is about communicating to people what exactly should be done and having them learn what to do. As long as a leader knows how to instruct his people properly, then his people will definitely be able to produce good results that are up to standard or even better.




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