Communicators know there is no unicorn

When I deliver training for communications professionals, I try hard not to give fixed solutions. Instead, I like to suggest the questions people need to ask.

A long time ago I heard Bill Quirke say ‘You can’t take someone else’s medicine, you need to work out what is right for your organisation’.

Bill, who first framed many of the core principles of employee and change communication, was making the very simple point that every organisation is different and so has to develop practices, processes and tools that work for them.

It’s no use trying to transplant a particular communication channel from one workplace to another and expecting to get the same results.

That newsletter that worked so well in your last company might die a death in your next one. An app that your HRD admires from a competitor company may just confuse your people or lack the features which you need in your world. A manager briefing format that sounds so great at a conference, won’t necessarily work in your culture.

It’s plain that every organisation is different, with a distinct culture, shape and context.

But too much of the narrative around communications and change deliberately tries to ignore that.

Google ‘Internal communications’ and you’ll see what I mean.

You’ll likely see a ‘strategic’ white paper from an app developer selling, surprise surprise, an app as the cure for all ills. The search results will also probably include marketing from a social media management tool which thinks that Yammer is the only way to deliver the ever essential key metrics of social shares and content engagement.

I’m old enough to remember conferences where we got excited at how new-fangled intranets would revolutionise workplace communications. Doubtless, the introduction of the automatic switchboard was lauded with as much anticipation for the improvement of workplace collaboration, engagement and advocacy as are advances in electronic signage and new features on Teams.

Overly simplistic theories

If we’re not being sold specific tools as the solution to every communications problem, we’re likely to be offered overly simplistic and universally applicable models for how to communicate or deliver transformation.

A rummage around ‘Change Comms’ on the web will throw up clumsy adaptations of Kübler-Ross’ 50-year-old personal insights on death and dying and how they apply in the workplace. Kotter’s 1996 suggestion that change is an eight step model that should begin with frightening everyone, is also widely cited as sage advice for how to transform every organisation.

And, if you fancy wasting a chunk of time, try to track down reliable primary evidence to support the often quoted statistic that 70% of all change initiatives fail.

Not only is it unwise to attempt to apply tools or models from other contexts to our own comms and transformation practice, when there is so much nonsense being shamelessly peddled, it’s highly likely that the theories or marketing claims being offered will lead you down a rat hole.

The disappointing truth is there is no unicorn or magic wand to make everyone's comms great.

Which experts should we believe?

So, what is a practitioner to do when they are trying to produce effective strategies for communication? How are we to know which experts, thinkers or ‘gurus’ are telling the truth and which ones are trying to flog a dodgy messaging platform?

When I run training for communicators, and in the books I have written with Sue Dewhurst , I have tried to take a simple approach.

You shouldn't believe any of them - including me.

The focus should always be on identifying the outcome or the result you want to achieve. And when I say outcome, I am referring to the impact on the organisation and its goals. I do not mean likes and shares; I mean helping deliver the business strategy or solving an organisational problem.

In my view, the job of the communicator is to ask questions about what we’re trying to achieve and to resist the temptation to jump straight to tactics and tools. So, one of the most valuable skills we can develop in our teams is the ability to enquire, to probe and to challenge (gently).

Sue, frequently drives me nuts when I get excited about an idea by asking .."yes, but how will it help?"

Trust your ability to ask questions - not apply a set theory

I have consistently offered the idea that most communications solve one of five problems – making people stick around, helping them collaborate, explaining rules and roles in an engaging way, enabling advocacy and supporting transformation. There may be others and I’m sure some people would dispute (fairly) the definitions which I offer.

But I offer this list (and many more) as aide memoires for asking questions. If it’s useful, please use it; if it’s not, I won’t be (very) upset.

My aim is to get a conversation started where a communicator can get to the bottom of an issue, before applying their craft skills to shape and share messages. If a communicator wanders around with a limited toolbox or fixed views about how the world works, they are unlikely to find enlightenment.

All that is likely to come is a cycle of suffering and dissatisfaction.

Build capability in curiosity and challenge

When planning the development of their teams, I would encourage comms leaders to build capability in curiosity and challenge (in the nicest possible way). Good communication professionals can be great sparring partners who ask ‘what is the problem we’re trying to solve and what will a great result look like?’.

But you don’t have to agree with me.

If you found this interesting, you might want to join me on one of the courses which I run with the PRCA - or get in touch to see if I can help develop your team.

With?Sue Dewhurst?I wrote Successful?Employee Communications?(published by?Kogan Page). It includes multiple cases studies and examples looking at how organisations around the world and in different sectors have thought through how to manage their internal communications processes. It will help you ask the right questions about your world.

I'd love to hear how change and transformation are communicated in your organisation.