Communication
"High on the diagnostic checklist of corporate health is communication. The ease with which information flows downward, upward and horizontally is often a major internal indicant of organizational effectiveness; who listens to whom may reveal the real as opposed to the apparent authority structure in a firm; and, the proportion of people who consistently fail to get the message is frequently taken as a statistical baseline for predicting the efficiency with which plans will be translated into actions." Jay Hall
Communication is the "glue" that holds the organization together.
Often our internal models of communication are based on external models which include techniques like "spin", "double speak", and "put only your best foot forward."
Is it any wonder that people in an organization may not trust what leaders say?
If you want to improve the performance of your organization, one of the things to consider is changing the model that drives communication.
We learned about Communication for Change from an extraordinary consultant named Lilot Moorman. Lilot worked with and mentored us in the 1980s and 90s. Lilot had a model for and extensive experience in how to design internal organizational strategies that both reflected the strategies and culture that leaders wanted to effect and helped drive performance and behavior in the direction of the mission, vision, and values.
Here are some of the questions that drive the design of Communication for Change:
What are the key "messages" that are currently driving communication in your organization?
How are the key "messages" linked to the business strategy and culture in the organization?
How credible is the information in your organization? How much do people trust what leaders say?
How extensive is the "rumor mill" in the organization? (There are no information voids; only accuracy voids!)
Who controls the current messages and information systems? How do they know what the people want and need to know?
What are the primary "convincer channels" and "convincer processes" of the people in your organization?
To what extent do your communication strategies and tools take advantage of that knowledge?
These questions and more are part of the way that your organization can begin to build a powerful, credible, and sustainable internal communication program that helps you achieve critical goals and helps you avoid creating more problems than you are solving with the communication you do.
If you want to know how to design effective communication strategies for your organization, contact Harshman & Associates.