The Five Messages Leaders must Manage

 Leaders within an organisation carry a huge responsibility: to know the answers to all the questions that can be asked from them (or point them to someone who can), manage employees in a responsible and conductive manner, and maintain positive relationships with consumers (amongst much more). If they do not do this, the damages can be detrimental. In my workplace, I have seen my share of good and bad managers. What separated the good managers from the bad was clear and concise communication. In a supermarket structure (the sector in which I work right now) poor communication with customers could lead to a loss in their future business; when dealing with a colleague, this poor communication could lead to a loss in profit due to poor planning and communication strategies amongst all levels of the organisation. My boss told me a story that demonstrates this. During the Christmas holidays last year, he was going to place the order for the next day's stock. He assumed that the other boss (who was just starting her holidays) placed the order for this specific item, and so he decided to not order it, nor did he ask her because he did not want to bug her on holidays. It turns out, however, she did not order this item, and it resulted in roughly $3000 in losses over the next two days. While this was a short-term problem, imagine the implication had there not been any communication between these two bosses at all in the long-term. They would be putting their department's financial situation at risk, while also lacking to demonstrate one of the most important aspects of being a manager: knowing your job and the responsibilities behind it. I think an unspoken responsibility of being a manager is effective communication, and a lack of understanding of this concept may be holding many companies and individuals back from success.