employee communication. what do I say and when?

When it comes to employee communication, a consultant friend of mine once dropped this truth bomb on me …

“Rarely do we tell people too much too soon.  Instead, we tell them too little, too late.”

Think about that for a minute.  I know I had to when I first heard it.  Truth is, I heard him speak  it 20+ years ago, and it’s still with me today.   The even bigger truth is his wisdom applies to communication in all types of settings be it church, government, education, you name it.

There is real wisdom here …

There’s real wisdom in my friend’s statement.  It’s truth that, if applied, could save you and your business/organization from all kinds of conflict, misunderstanding, and confusion.

Quality communication is the foundation and bedrock of any company or organization.

Most of the time, however, as leaders, we’re either poorly advised, fail to stop long enough to think through what’s being communicated, or we have a reluctance to communicate based on a pre-conceived notion that what we say will be adversely received.  Translation?  We’re scared!

Tips for a tough spot.

At my core, communication is my passion.  In all my roles —as a former COO for 18 years and owner and operator of businesses in both the private and non-profit sector before that — here are five insights I’ve learned that may help you the next time you find yourself in a tough “communication” spot, regardless of what got you there or what it is you have to say.

Five Insights to Make You a Better Communicator

1.     People want truth.  Remember the exchange between Colonel Nathan R. Jessup (played by Jack Nicholson) and Lt. Daniel Kaffee (played by Tom Cruise) in “A Few Good Men”? Colonel Jessup tells Lt. Kaffee, “You can’t handle the truth!”  In reality, people actually can handle the truth.  They appreciate the truth, and they respect a truth-teller.  Yes, communicating difficult things is hard, but it’s better than an ever-changing story when, from the beginning, truth could have and should have been told.

2.     Communicate before you’re forced to communicate.  If you’re at the start of an issue, a project or a problem, take time to think through at what points in the process you’ll need to communicate. Plan to take those affected by your message with you on the journey.  Several years ago, before beginning a big software migration to a different platform, I spent 60-days “communicating” in advance what the project and migration would look like.  I addressed both features and benefits of the project as well as the operational issues we’d face in the process.  As a result, the migration went off without a hitch.

3.     It’s okay not to have all the answers upfront.  Many times, I’ve seen leaders not communicate because they didn’t know how something would play out. So, instead of communicating what they could, they said nothing.  Or worse, they spoke in vague ambiguities which made their communication even more confusing.  Tell people what you can tell them.  If something is unknown, tell them.  And when it’s known, you’ll share.

4.     Face the message that scares you the most.  Ask yourself, “What’s preventing me from communicating this information?”  When you take time to address the “worst case” response in your own mind and in your own words, you’ll be more prepared … and the boogeyman dies! 

5.     Find or develop people around you who will tell you the truth and act as a sounding board.  During the depths of the Recession in 2006-2008, I had to deliver a lot of bad news regarding who we’d keep and who we let go due to the downturn.  I had a strong relationship with several people (at all levels of our business).  I was able to “test” my communication with them.  As a result, I changed the message but not its meaning.

Communication is the core and bedrock of every business or organization.  Do it well, and things generally go well.  Do it poorly, and things quickly spiral out of control.    Learning to communicate well as a leader credits trust, morale, confidence, pride and belief in both you and your organization.

 If I can help you communicate well, I’d be happy to!

R.

 Learn more at communicatewell.com/engage-you-people