Lessons in Communicating: Only the Truth Sounds Like the Truth
As I have progressed in my career, communication is one of the aspects of my job that has become more and more important. I used to have a healthy disrespect for communication. I always wanted to “get stuff done” versus spending days putting together that perfectly polished 85-page PowerPoint deck. I would let my actions and accomplishments speak for themselves. While I most definitely like to keep deck sizes down, I have also realized that effective communication is a core part of any executive’s job. It is a vital part of getting stuff done effectively, and done as a team.
Here are three effective communication tactics that have worked for me:
1) Communicate Repeatedly: It is easy for an executive to assume that, once they have laid out their priorities for their group, everyone will take in those priorities, action them, and keep them top of mind for decisions that they make through the year. Wrong. Teams get distracted. They have their own fires and issues and priorities that keep popping up. You, as a leader, have to repeat what is important, with conviction, again and again (and again).
Every year, I publish a scorecard of the most important metrics that we have to hit, and every month I report on how we are progressing. The repetition and the consistency keeps everyone aligned. We all know what is most important for us to achieve as a team. And, in case you forget, you’ll see it again next month.
2) Communicate Consistently: We work not only in an ever-changing world, but in a world where the pace of change is accelerating. While it is important for businesses and executives to adjust to market and competitive challenges, even pivot completely if they have to, it is vital to carefully consider the cost of changing direction relative to your team.
Some executives assume that, when they put forward a new direction to their team, everyone will simply adjust and execute. The truth is that if that executive has changed his or her mind in the past, the team won’t execute, the team will hedge. They will do just enough to move the project forward, so that when they are asked about the new project or new idea, they will have some kind of answer. If they are asked about it in a followup, maybe they will put in a bit more effort since this may be an idea that is important to you, but they won’t fully commit until they are absolutely sure that this new direction is going to stick. Meanwhile, you will have lost precious time.
If you want to change direction, make sure you mean it, make sure the change is worth it. If you are consistent, then your team will know you mean what you say. And they will go all in with you.
3) Communicate Transparently: It is universally true that the higher up you are in an organization, the less you know about “what is really going on.” At the same time, most employees don’t believe that senior management is completely honest and open with them either. So why would an employee share openly with management, when he or she doesn’t believe that management is doing the same?
If you are asking an employee to do something for you, explain why you need the task complete, what you are looking to accomplish. Be open with your team about your challenges and issues that you are worried about – you might be surprised at how positively they react.
At Expedia, we are very candid in our communication with our employees. I always review good news and bad news in our employee town halls (and make sure I am as open about the bad news to report as good news). I have heard from many employees about how much they appreciate the candor and being able to ask any question that they want. You also need to be genuine when you are transparent. Otherwise employees will think you’re reading someone else’s words.
This culture of transparency is something you want to translate into all levels in your company; and, if you do it right, you’ll get that transparency right back up to you. You may or may not like what you are hearing, but you will know what is really going on.
Another great tool for communication is knowing when to end, which I will do now.
Photo: Audrey_Popov/Shutterstock
What is Uber doing operating illegally in a foreign country as a pirate taxi service? Your director of litigation wrote a threatening letter urging me not to disseminate documents pertaining to Uber's ongoing corruption practices in Turkey. ? Last month, the Turkish police pulled over my Uber. Both the driver and I received massive fines! Afterwards, my Uber driver inveigled me into signing false documents, claiming it was necessary for Uber to reimburse me (to this day Uber has not reimbursed me!) I subsequently learned that this was common practice by Uber in Turkey; Uber drivers implicate passengers in fraud by submitting these documents (two of which bare my signature) to a Turkish administrative agency. The drivers then claim we were not Uber customers, but tour guide customers instead, to avoid losing their license. In exchange for providing these fraudulent documents, Uber pays the tour guide agencies a fat "commission." ? The documents are fraudulent in that they create a non-existent, fictitious relationship between Uber customers and a tour operators. My signature cannot be used to facilitate fraud. In the United States, providing false statements to a government officials would constitute a felony (18 U.S. Code § 1001.)
Retired
6 年Great article. In this world of working virtually, communication becomes even more important. Focusing on just emailing your team becomes ineffective.
Sr. IT Project Manager, Technology
7 年Beautiful- all too simply straightforward and true! Simplicity to reiterate, which does does get misconstrued, and in and of its nature is SUSTAINABLE... Excellent.
MACRO Regional Planning Expert & Strategic MENTOR
9 年As viable in dilemmas, real solutions lie in simple formulations and your formula is really vital Dara! The message (as I understand) is; Be reliable, consistent and patient that your voice will be heard & Understood in the end! Physically and Logically it sounds proper but there are some other factors to be considered, which can easily upset this net formula. Since the main purpose of communication is not (or should not be!) giving the message and confirming the receival but the critical issue is to be realized and responded back, for further dynamic feedback of understanding and evaluation with the learning process towards ongoing behavioral actions. Hence main issue is, the real value of a message is determined by how far it is understood in the first place, which triggers a dynamic human behaviors and complex interactions within never ending learning process. But most people can easily say -I know it- just upon hearing, which really kills the learning media.
Senior Manager - Experience at CrossVue
10 年I am all for transparency. I have not encountered a company the is truly transparent. Does Expedia publish the compensation for their grade bands? Do they publish who are "High Potentials" or succession candidates for high level positions to the company, or even to those individuals who are on the plans? It's relatively easy to be transparent about financials, scorecards, and strategic direction. These things rarely ignite conflict. Areas where we are transparent about our people is a different story. It takes MUCH more leadership courage to openly say employee A is a High Potential and Employee B is not. Or the Executive A and Executive B are successors for a key position and deal openly with Executive A's cut-throat behavior in an attempt to "win" the position.