Convincing Decisions
We've all known since we heard it in grade school that "actions speak louder than words." But many leaders fail to fully appreciate how this adage applies to the practice of effective internal communication. The extrapolation is this: Leaders' decisions and behavior, and the way they reward and recognize employees, will always send more powerful messages to the organization than any messages transmitted through formal communications (e.g., speeches, emails, etc.).
Accordingly, after leaders use a formal communication channel or event to share new strategic information (such as a new strategy) with the organization, most employees will assume that "this too shall pass" and withhold acceptance and commitment until they see tangible leadership actions that support the leadership rhetoric. As a result, it's critical to build highly visible "convincing decisions" into any strategic internal communication campaign.
In a Fortune Street Life column last year, Andy Serwer shared a post from a reader that beautifully illustrates how a well-intentioned but ill-conceived formal communication activity--and subsequent leadership decisions--can send competing, inconsistent messages:
"Just a quick note from down in the trenches. I work for an e-consultancy and a while back the Culture Committee came up with a list of the company's core values. To keep them fresh in our mind a hat that exemplified each was purchased and given to a person that had demonstrated that core value and has been passed on to a new recipient at the company's quarterly meeting. Well, things have gotten a little lean on the demand side in the industry and this week right before the quarterly meeting there was a layoff. The bad news: Integrity, Teamwork, Fun and Respect for the Individual will soon be working for someone else. The good news: Growth and Innovation are ready to cut loose in a leaner, meaner, e-business machine."