I’ve heard Dave Ramsey, Entrepreneur and Financial Coach, say many times, “To be unclear is to be unkind.” In both life and business that is true. A lack of clarity leaves others wondering about what the direction is and what their part to play may be. Many times I’ve seen employees in businesses speculate and gossip because they lack clear and regular communication from executive and senior leadership. This, generally, lowers morale, misdirects energy, and creates overall confusion. Here are three ways to ensure that your organization doesn’t suffer from misalignment.
- The role of leaders in organizations is to serve as what Pat Lencioni calls the “Chief Reminding Officer.” As leaders, if we haven’t said things so often that our employees are rolling their eyes and repeating our sentences, it’s not enough. It’s incumbent upon leaders to remind those in their care what the purpose of the organization is, how it lives out its purpose, and the values that it holds dear in doing so. Organizations that value communications often have leaders roaming the hallways evangelizing these things. They have internal communication rhythms to celebrate stories of individuals who are living out the core values. They also, with prejudice, address the behaviors of those who miss the mark.
- What does success look like? It’s an easy question, but oftentimes difficult to answer. Organizations and leaders owe it to their employees to paint a clear picture of how they can succeed in their role before they are hired. And as the needs of the business change, and they will, it is critical to keep employees informed of how the organization’s quarterly priorities are adapting to meet the demands of the market, economy, etc. Communicating the priorities is only half the job, though. The other half is to help employees understand how their role should be focusing on those priorities and helping the organization achieve its quarterly goals.
- Lastly, organizations must have regular forms of communication. We recommend an annual planning retreat for executive leadership. We recommend monthly meetings to track quarterly priorities, weekly tactical meetings, and daily huddles. That’s right, daily huddles that last less than 15 minutes in which small teams review what they are working on, why it matters, and where they are presently stuck. This regular rhythm, and commitment of 15 minutes, keeps the communication rhythms frequent enough to eliminate any sort of confusion or speculation as to the most important projects that an employee should be working on.
Are the communications in your organization clear and concise? Do you have regular meeting rhythms? Are you celebrating core value champions? The momentum of your organization depends on your ability to keep the team focused.