People get nervous when times are uncertain. That’s why it is so important for leaders to communicate more than normal—not less. Even if you don’t have all the answers, it’s important to share what you do know. In the absence of information, people will start thinking the worst. Leaders can head that off with honest and frequent communication on what is happening.
I was reminded how comforting a message from your leader can be after listening to a 10-minute internal podcast from our VP of Marketing.
It was the third in a series of recordings with senior leaders in our company that are being captured and distributed on our SharePoint site. Approximately once a month we hear from a different leader sharing their take on the business outlook and what our current strategies are. It’s a great tool that many other organizations may want to adopt.
What it did for me was define a direction. By listening to the plans our Marketing VP outlined I was able to see the direction we were moving in and I could reevaluate how my own personal work goals aligned with the organizational goals. It was a simple, but powerful way of keeping me—and everyone else in the company informed about how things were going and most importantly, what our plans were for moving forward.
One of the challenges that organizations are facing these days is how to create alignment between departments and teams so that everyone is working from the same sheet of music. Communicating more frequently is a great place to start.
mixed messages of late. Our own company is sending out directives on the one hand to stay relevant and adapt to client requests, while on the other hand paring back on staff, hours, and support. We can’t do both you know!
in these difficult times, the imperatives are leaning in opposed directions. It’s hard to find a personal solution when your ‘leader’ is saying 2 different things.