We communicate with others from the moment that we are born. It is part of what makes us human. Communication may seem easy but it is a complex process. It’s not just talking; it is how we establish effective (or ineffective) ways to exchange and share information. We often assume that effective communication will naturally happen within an organization. Unfortunately, that is not always true.
Miscommunication is often at the root of organizational problems. A culture of poor communication can create conflict, poor productivity, missed deadlines, silo mentality, and lack of engagement, creativity, or trust between team members at all levels. Many leaders face a common conundrum: they have brought in people with all the raw ingredients needed for success – expertise, skill, talent, knowledge, and a desire for success – and yet these people are not engaged and they don’t collaborate. Team members are focused on their individual success, rather than on mutual success.
Communication is critical in creating a bridge between business needs for results and employee needs for understanding. In all companies, communication can either drive results or drive drama. Leaders can drive results by implementing a clear communication strategy that focuses on the future, highlights what’s possible, and explains what course corrections are needed to achieve company goals.
Communication Goals
All good communication strategies start with three common goals:
Make Sure Employees Have the Information They Need To Do Their Jobs
The key goal of internal communication in every company, regardless of size or industry, is to make sure that every employee has the information they need to do his or her job. This does not mean sharing all information with every employee, but sharing relevant information they need to succeed. Sharing too much irrelevant information can distract team members, which can lead to confusion. Confusion can lead to stress and actually prevent people from achieving their project goals. Also, some information may not be appropriate to share with the team because of confidentiality, legal or financial concerns.
Make Sure That Employees Feel Heard (or Have a Voice)
Another major goal of any internal communication strategy is to make sure that there is a process where employees know that their ideas are heard and considered. People will be invested in achieving the company’s goals and solving problems if they know that management is willing to listen to their ideas and is appreciative of their contributions.
Create Alignment and Collaboration
Effective internal communication also creates alignment across the company. It ensures that every employee is working towards company goals. It also allows everyone to see how their work impacts others in their team and how it contributes to the greater success of the company. Employees look to their leadership team for direction and inspiration. Many leaders do not realize the power their words can have to influence company success. Ultimately, it is up to the leadership team to initiate conversations that align with the values of the organization.
For example, I have observed a CEO emphasize how the company’s share price was affecting fundraising abilities. The employees then started to focus on share price and that became the conversation in the hallways. This is a natural reaction. Whatever employees hear from their CEO becomes their focus. Something like share price should never be the concern of team members on the ground. In this case, the CEO was surprised to get comments and feedback on stock price instead of comments on the company’s goals and objectives. The remedy was to have the CEO acknowledge frustration with the investment community, reassure his employees that he was dealing with this problem and explain that he needed the team to similarly focus on their department’s goals/objectives.
Leaders need to know that their communication can either focus or distract their team from their true objectives.
Solving Communication Problems
Leaders must understand what is breaking down in the communication process before they can fix it. I work with company leaders to lay out a very clear communication process, and I always start by asking people at all levels what the problems are, and what is creating silos in their company.
People in leadership often make assumptions about why their internal communication is poor. For example, leaders will often say to me, “People don’t listen, they don’t ask.” Don’t assume that you know the cause of your company’s communication problems. Get feedback from your people so you can understand why pertinent information is not getting to the right people.
On the other hand, employees often assume management is intentionally keeping them in dark. I often hear team members say, “I don’t know where the decisions are being made. I don’t know where to get the information.” In these companies, the communication chain is broken and decisions disappear at a certain level.
Here are some tips to improve internal communication:
Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
I always say that repetition is your friend. When you are in a meeting and you are sharing key information, make your message very clear. Give other leaders a clear message to take back to their teams. Make sure they know what is confidential and what must be shared. Ask them if it is clear. Assure they know what they have to share. Find out if they have any questions. Make sure each person knows exactly whom they must tell and the deadline by which that information must be shared. Say something like, “We need all team members to know about this by end of the day.” That way everyone has the information at the same time.
When team members don’t get necessary information through appropriate channels, they feel left out and think other groups are more valued. This creates unintended competition between departments. If leaders can’t get their team together in a timely manner, have them send an all-team email saying there is news about xyz to be shared and they will discuss it with their team as soon as they can.
Know What Is Relevant
As leaders, you need to identify what information team members need to be effective. Always ask these three questions:
- What do they know already?
- What do they need to know?
- Do they need more from me?
Meeting Attendance Doesn’t Define Your Value
Avoid creating an environment where people measure their relevance in the company by the number of meetings they are invited to attend. Take your team’s results and feedback to meetings, so they don’t feel that they have to attend a meeting to have their voices heard. Take all relevant information from the meeting and share it immediately with your team. This creates a system and a culture whereby your people know their work is valued, their concerns will be heard and they will receive all relevant information in a timely fashion.
Lead By Example
While communication within a company is everyone’s responsibility, it must be exemplified by the leaders. Leaders must create a culture of open communication where every employee feels safe to speak up about problems and offer potential solutions. Leaders create this culture by the way they act themselves, what they reward, and what they are willing to accept.
If employees see their leaders yell and be disrespectful, they will mimic that behavior. To create change, leaders must model respect, transparency, teamwork, and knowledge sharing. This means using responsible language that is motivating, empowering, respectful, and absent of blame.
The most important part of any communication strategy is to keep leaders and team members accountable for how they behave and how they communicate. Establish accountability by creating clear expectations regarding internal communication. Revisit these expectations often with your team.
Adapt and Grow
Communication is especially vulnerable during times of change, and change can occur at an astronomical pace within a fast-growing company. Throughout this process, leadership needs to be continuously thinking about how their communication strategy can evolve with these changes. A process that worked for five people will not necessarily work for 25 or 100 people.
Create a culture where everyone understands that change is inevitable while the company grows but there is a structure in place to support teams through this time. This will help teams build resilience by developing a mindset to expect and embrace change.
Involve Your Team
Leaders need to include their team members when planning communication strategy. Team members can help identify roadblocks in implementing goals. They can also help with defining solutions. People are always more invested if they are more involved.
Summing Up Good Communication
To create a successful communication culture, leaders must implement a clear communication strategy, sustain it over time and adapt it as the company grows and changes. The end goal of all internal communication is to have people walk away knowing what is expected, what their role is, and how they can work with others to do their job successfully. Team members want to feel heard and feel that they have a very clear path to follow. An effective communication structure within a company gives leaders and team members the tools they need to communicate and achieve personal, team, and company goals.
For more information or help creating an effective communication strategy for your company, contact us for a complimentary consultation.
