Science tells us that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, and in the business environment this holds as true for communications as it does for those executive desk toys made of ball bearings.
An aggressive CEO is likely to receive a defensive reaction from his employees, while clear instruction goes a long way towards getting decisive action from your workforce.
The benefits for CEOs who learn to communicate well are huge. Keeping your employees well informed can make a real contribution to business success, whether measured in terms of productivity, customer satisfaction, company and personal reputation, or staff retention. So what are the common areas where communications from the top fail, and how can they be avoided?
Learn to listen
Hearing what someone is saying and actively listening to what they are – and are not – telling you are two different things. Good listening skills are extremely important in effective management – often even more so than verbal communications skills. “Once you’ve asked a question, shut up and listen,” says Bill Quirke, who runs communication consultancy Synopsis.
Interrupting people and thinking about what you want to say next while someone else is talking are to be avoided at all costs. Pay attention and make sure you are not just being told what people think you want to hear.
Michael Tait is CEO of software firm Axiom Systems and has built numerous software and systems companies across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the US. He says one of the best skills a CEO can have is to get staff communicating with them. “Create an environment where people feel comfortable coming to you with their views, issues and worries. Don’t be insular and shut yourself away in your office. Get everyone chatting to you, and keep your ear to the ground,” he says.
Prepare what you are going to say
“You should talk to your staff in exactly the same way as if they were your number one customer,” says Richard Rivlin, director of management training company Bladonmore.
If you are making an announcement of some kind, spend time preparing what you are going to say and work out the key points you want to convey. Then practice delivering your message, in front of a mirror if necessary. Churchill famously spent an hour practising for every minute of a speech he delivered.
“After you’ve determined the outcome you wish to achieve, decide what is the most appropriate style and tone to use, dependent on whether it is good news or bad news,” advises Rivlin. Don’t be too chipper in a crisis situation or crack jokes when announcing redundancies, even out of sheer nervousness.
Use an appropriate medium
In growing businesses there’s no substitute for verbal dialogue. “There’s a concern that email has become an easy option and I’ve heard some awful stories about bad news being given to individuals by email or even text message,” says Neil Hedges, chairman of PR consultancy and internal communications specialist Fishburn Hedges. “Ask yourself – can this information be passed on verbally? It can be time-consuming, but two-way communication is powerful. Even if it can’t be done face-to-face, then the phone is still a useful internal tool,” he says.
Avoid jargon
Corporate and industry gobbledegook is always near the top of any list of common communication errors. “Too often the use of management speak is really a cover up for not telling it as it is,” says Hedges. The best communicators are extremely articulate, using short words and plain English – call a spade a spade, not an agricultural implement. There’s a big disconnect in management speak. Telling people you want to “optimise our customer focus” doesn’t actually tell them what they need to do.
Communicate in a positive way
Dale Carnegie’s number one rule in his classic book ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ is: “Don’t criticise, complain or condemn.” Try and avoid negative communication habits. You should resist being critical, aggressive, condescending, or evasive; don’t let your default answer to a request be ‘no’; give sincere praise where it’s due, preferably in public and try smiling once in a while.
“Always be polite and say thank you,” says Tait. Being the boss doesn’t entitle you to bad manners, or mean you can snap at people just because you’re in a bad mood.
Be honest and open
There’s nothing worse than rumour, whispered half-truths and company grapevines for undermining morale, and creating suspicion and fear within a company. Your employees aren’t stupid. They will know if something is going on behind closed doors, whether through leaked information or body language.
Be upfront, honest, and transparent as early as you can if changes are afoot, whether or not they are cause for celebration.
“People can be very resilient to bad news as long as it is relayed correctly, and they don’t get a lot of mixed messages,” says Hedges. Recent research in European businesses showed that only 57% of employees trusted their employer. “If we don’t trust what’s been said, that’s an awful indictment of the clarity of corporate communication,” says Hedges.
Keep people in the picture
Regular company update meetings, if size permits, are an excellent idea for keeping your teams informed and up-to-date about developments within the business. They offer an opportunity to openly praise good work and success, as well as to be transparent about potential trouble spots.
“People can get lost in the confusion of change and this can really affect morale and performance,” says Tait. “Every company is going through change, it’s only the rate of change that differs. It’s important to keep people up-to-date on all the major issues.”
Create a communicative culture
