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Ensuring Organizational Feedback

Effective communications is a two-way street. All too often leaders spend the bulk of their time on crafting a message without stopping to listen to what people are saying about it. It is imperative that leaders provide avenues through which followers can voice their opinion of a leadership message as well as provide additional ideas that reinforce organizational values.

In this way, as mentioned previously, leaders enable the employees to take ownership of the idea. When you ask for feedback, you are saying, “We care about you, and we want your ideas.” In return, the employee will feel a sense of obligation to contribute. In effect, asking for feedback is a kind of call to action.

The U.S. Army has a policy of expecting junior officers to challenge senior officers’ opinions on matters related to the health and safety of the troops. During After Action Reports, the postmortem reviews of military exercises or actions, junior officers are encouraged to speak up and say how things might have gone differently. Why? Because the Army views AARs as learning tools. Continuous improvement will occur only when people can speak their minds. This does not mean that senior leaders need to agree; it simply means that they must listen. The same rule should apply in the civilian sector.

Taken From : Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders

Marketing the Message

Advertisers also know how to make certain that a message resonates. Their job is to create awareness and provide a stimulus for action. Here are some things to consider (see Figure 4-2):

• Generate buzz. Get people talking about what you are saying. Take your cue from the Star Wars marketing team; they begin marketing the next sequel along with the current release, often years in advance of its premiere showing. Come opening day, you cannot pick up a newspaper or magazine without reading something about the phenomenon. Much of the promotion is free media. Leaders need to get people talking about their messages, too. Select key influencers the way a marketer might select key media outlets or talk show hosts. Grant them access to what’s going on and challenge them to spread the word. Read more »
  
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Making the Message Resonate

When it comes to ensuring that a message is seen and heard by the right people, leaders can learn from public relations professionals. In his book Feeding the Media Beast, Mark Mathis identifies a number of techniques that individuals or organizations that are seeking publicity employ to get noticed by the media. Three salient elements of raising awareness are relevant to leadership communications: difference, emotion, and simplicity.^[3] Let’s take them one by one.

• Difference. Leaders are about making a difference. We look to our leaders to give us the guidance to take us to places where we have not yet gone. Therefore, leaders need to link their communications to their difference. A leader’s difference is both metaphorical and literal. The metaphorical difference relates to the difference the leader will bring to an organization: how he or she will make changes that will make things better for the stakeholders. Colin Powell is a master at delivering a message that explicates a policy and demonstrates the benefits. The second difference is literal. The leader must look to make her or his messages different (i.e., “fresh”).^[4] The freshness may emerge from the use of new and different words or stories to underscore key points or from the use of different forms of delivery. Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill was a master of the well-honed story; he had a treasure trove of tales that he was ready to tell at the right moment. Likewise, politicians on the campaign trail are good at finding new locales and venues for their messages; one day it might be a school, another day a factory, a third day a farm. By linking location to constituency need, they illustrate their vital difference as well as keeping the message fresh and alive. Read more »
  
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Timing Is Everything

Once you have selected the right media, choose the right time to make an announcement. The most dramatic example of timing occurred in the immediate wake of September 11. Anything unrelated to the events of the day, including meetings, conferences, and advertising, was cancelled. While an event of this magnitude is thankfully a rarity, communicators need to be aware of events both inside and outside the organization. You want to strive for people’s maximum attention. This is much easier said than done. During times of crisis, announcements of management changes or responses to the crisis are very appropriate. But when you are announcing a new initiative, don’t do it during the holidays, when people are thinking of family and social obligations.

Taken From : Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders

Reaching the Right Audience

The content and delivery of the leadership message are dependent upon the audience’s needs and expectations. Just as advertisers target their messages to specific demographic groups, e.g., young males 18 to 24 or women 21 to 48, leaders can target theirs to specific interest groups, e.g., managers, employees, customers, or suppliers. The heart of the message will remain consistent, but the point of view may differ. For example, a message to employees about a new product launch will describe both the product and the support the employees must deliver to the customers. A product launch message to a customer will concentrate on features and benefits and describe the support the customer will receive.

In shaping the message, consider these points:

• Select the key influencers. Consider whom you want to reach first-those who can influence your message in a positive way. It may be appropriate to invite key members of the media for a preview of a new product or an inside look at an organizational initiative. This is a tried and true technique in public affairs circles as a means of creating buzz, i.e., excitement. At the same time, consider those who can adversely affect your message. It is appropriate to give them an inside briefing, too, so that you can address any potential negatives and defuse any negative reactions prior to general release of the message.
• Target the message. Adjust the content of the message to the audience you wish to reach. Sometimes the same message will be appropriate for all employees at all levels of the organization, and in this case everyone will receive the same content. It is often a good idea, however, to alert senior management to the message and even send them a prerelease message along with suggestions as to what kind of reaction they should expect from their people when the message is delivered. In this way, you gain buy-in of the leadership message and create a greater sense of shared destiny. All of us, no matter who we are, appreciate inside information because it makes us feel special and more in the know.
• Reiteration is good. People need to hear the message over and over again-once is not enough. Just as you repeat messages with different media, you repeat messages to the same audiences. You can tweak the content to keep it fresh, but it is essential for the leader to repeat the core themes over and over again. Repetition does two things: It increases the likelihood of retention, and it demonstrates importance. In particular, reiteration of a message underscores a leader’s consistency, which leads directly to credibility.
• Keep the big picture in mind. Targeting and audience selection are important, but it is also important that you keep the whole story in front of you. It is essential that you make certain that everyone is getting the same big picture message. The leader must ask him- or herself periodically whether key constituents have the information they need in order to do their jobs and have confidence in the leadership of the organization. People do not need-nor do they want-to know everything about everything. But they do need to feel that the communications they are receiving is accurate, honest, and truthful. If it is helping to strengthen the bond of trust between leader and follower as well as to drive results, then the communications is appropriate.

Taken From : Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders

Frequency

Once is rarely enough; repeat, repeat, repeat is typically the rule. The gravity of the message dictates the amount of repetition. It is important to repeat the message frequently and in new and different ways. Varying the media used can assist in this effort. Use video for one announcement. Choose a meeting for a reiteration of the message. Post banners for thematic tie-ins. And use email to reinforce key points. In this way, the recipient receives the message in a variety of different ways over a period of time.

A word about budget: Video and print can be expensive, but in-house production facilities can reduce the cost. Furthermore, you can use other forms of media, like articles and webcasts, to carry the bulk of the message and be selective with more expensive media.

Taken From : Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders

Integrated Communications Planning

Of course, for maximum impact, it may be appropriate to use two, three, or all of these media. If the gravity of the message is weighty, it deserves multiple channels and multiple forms of media. Leaders need to plan how their messages will be disseminated. We call this planning integrated communications-multiple channels and multiple media working together. The virtues of integrated communications are threefold: One, you can design a message to work in different ways for different media; two, you increase the chances of the message’s being seen and heard; and three, you can use the media to keep the message fresh and alive-and therefore of greater interest.

A good example of integrated communications is the launching of a new vehicle. Commercials appear on television and radio. Ads show up in magazines, in newspapers, and on billboards. And the vehicles appear in dealer showrooms. Likewise, companies that want to communicate key issues may convene an all-employee meeting, send letters to employees’ homes, and post banners in employee cafeterias. In both instances, the organizations are integrating channels and media to ensure exposure to the message.

Taken From : Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders

Four Leadership Communication Channels

Just as individuals use different forms of communications-words, gestures, signals of attentiveness-organizations use various communication channels. Typically an organization utilizes four types of communications, or channels (see Figure 4-1). While it may be advantageous to use all four channels to communicate a single initiative, it is often feasible to select a single channel for a particular message. Read more »

Leadership Communication Strategies

Once you know the issues facing an organization, you can plan your communication strategies. Communication strategies should echo the vision, mission, and business strategies of the organization. They should be telling people where the organization is headed, how it will get there, and what people need to do to make certain they are in alignment with the organization. The communication strategies are designed to

• Develop and reinforce the bond of trust that must exist between leader and follower. Position the leader as one who can be trusted and is worthy of support. Winston Churchill and Rudy Giuliani were the right leaders at the right time when people in peril needed their guidance and leadership.
• Affirm the organizational vision, mission, and values. Reinforce what the organization stands for and what people in it believe. Robert Redford founded Sundance Institute to support independent filmmaking, and he continues to actively support its mission through his actions and communications.
• Facilitate a two-way flow of information throughout all levels of the organization, including manager to employee, employee to manager, and peer to peer. Enable communications to flow upward from follower to leader. Upward communications keeps the leader in touch with the people and enables people to have their voices heard, thereby promoting a shared stake in the enterprise. Rich Teerlink at Harley-Davidson emphasized open and honest communications as the means of effecting lasting, positive change.
• Create the impetus for organizational effectiveness (e.g., making things happen). Tell people what is happening now, what will happen next, and what will happen as a result of their actions. Steve Jobs lets people at Apple know why they should care about their work and gets them excited about the difference they are making in the world of design and technology.
• Drive results. Achieve what the organization is supposed to do: Make great products, deliver terrific service, improve people’s lives, and so on. Jack Welch was a master at pushing the organization to achieve its stated goals, and he used his communications to prioritize the importance of making the numbers.

The other part of the leadership communications equation is giving people reasons to want to embrace the strategy. You develop your messages as reasons for people to support the strategy. Keep in mind that there is a natural overlap between purpose (as described in Chapter 1) and strategy; in some cases they are one and the same. Strategies and supporting messages echo one another to support organizational goals.

Taken From : Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders

Communications Audits

Assessing the Organizational Communications Climate

Another form of survey used specifically for evaluating communications is the communications audit. While the audit may assess organizational climate, it is often used to measure the response to specific forms of communication, e.g., a video, a brochure, or a meeting. The purpose of the communications audit is to evaluate how well people understood the message and what they will do with the information they have received. For example, if you send out a video on changes to a benefits plan and follow up with a survey, you can ask whether people have the information they need in order to decide whether to make changes in their plan or keep it as it is, and whether they know where to go to seek further information.

Do you have to use all three methods of analysis? No, but the more types of analysis you use, the greater the validity of your conclusions. Also keep in mind that any one of these analysis methods is a form of intervention. And when you intervene, you must provide a context for it. For example, you must always explain why you are gathering data and what you will do with it.^[2]

^[2]The author is indebted to Steve Gill, author and performance evaluation consultant, for his insights and editing expertise in the section on organizational culture as it relates to interviews, focus groups, and surveys.

Taken From : Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders