For proper group cohesion, there has to be a free flow of information between all members. Within a chama, the most prominent communication falls squarely on the chair’s shoulders. As the chair, ensure you have an open environment where members can air their opinions or quarries. Proactively answer their questions, and give them context about why you’re making certain decisions. Your communication style says a lot about you as a leader. There are various communication styles, and failure to communicate effectively can cause low morale. Effective communication isn’t easy—but by creating a culture of open dialogue, you can create a healthy environment. You need effective communication in;

Dealing with conflict
Resolving conflict can be overwhelming, especially if you haven’t dealt with it before. But addressing conflict directly is often the best way to make your team members feel supported and heard. It is advisable to keep these conversations behind closed doors with as few members as possible. The privacy allows the members involved to air out their frustrations better, and feel safer to state their truths. In conflict resolution, always go with the facts at hand, rather than hearsay. Facts are the things that have actually happened, hearsay are personal interpretations of the facts. Separating facts from stories can help prevent jumping to conclusions. Conflicts can bring up lots of emotions. Bottom line—in order to resolve a conflict, you need to find out what caused it. When you do resolve a conflict, implement new processes or procedures aimed at preventing it from happening again.

Letting go of a member
Parting ways with a member is never an easy decision, but there are situations where it becomes a necessary step to maintain the efficiency and security of your operations. Schedule a private meeting with the member to discuss the decision to terminate their membership. Be transparent about the reasons and share the evidence supporting the decision. If the member was part of the management you will need to immediately revoke their access to sensitive systems, data, and infrastructure to prevent any security breaches. Inform the rest of the chama members, stakeholders, and clients about the departure of the member and the steps taken to ensure a smooth transition (if they were in management).

Sharing bad news
You can never go wrong by being totally transparent with your chama members. As a leader, you have to practice mindfulness and be empathetic with your chama members Perhaps a member needs welfare for an incommunicable disease, you do not have to state the disease to the other members, you can just put it as a medical fund for them. It is with such sensitivity and kindness that member will feel safe with you and even be able to approach and share more with you. When people feel safe, they will even help your chama grow by advocating for more people to join. This will also enhance the types of investments you can gunner as a group.

Provide consistent feedback
In any venture that the chama has undertaken, make sure that the group is in the loop with any sort of development. Whether negative or positive, always update the members on what is going on. No one likes to be left in the dark. Say for instance the project has stalled and there isn’t any progress in any direction, when you next communicate with the group, do not just assume this point, but reassure them that there is no change in that front. This puts the members at ease knowing that you are still hands on and following up.

Good communication leads to effective decision making, engaged team members, and successful projects. Team communication is critical and luckily, developing good team communication practices is easy, especially if your chama is on the Digichama platform.