Look Inward to Drive Outward

Maybe it's just my algorithm... but my feeds are full of AI-driven products to help communicators improve #internalcommunications. Oh, the irony of the robots telling us humans how to be, well, more human.

Here are my quick thoughts on improving internal communications, and spoiler (!), it has nothing to do with data or machines.

Storytime: In my first meeting with Charles F. Bolden Jr., I asked him about his ambitions for his tenure as NASA's NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Administrator.

The short version of his answer: investing in the workforce.

And gentle reader, here's the truth: that answer underwhelmed me. Until I got to see the big picture. You see, I joined NASA one month after the last Shuttle launch. Thousands of NASA employees were concerned and confused about the direction of the agency's plan for human spaceflight exploration. Tens of thousands more worked as contractors at one of the many American corporations that had supported the shuttle program for decades - and many of them found themselves out of work.

And if they weren't without a job, some felt untethered, directionless, or maybe just disenchanted.

We didn't need to take a survey or Ask Jeeves what the problem was: the problem was that we had not yet effectively communicated a new vision to our employees and got their buy-in on the new direction.

Here are a few things we did:

Communicate transparently from the top. When you're in a crisis, my experience leads me to believe it's a mistake to communicate only to the top-level leaders and expect them to carry your message effectively throughout the organization. If you want every member of the team at every level to hear your message, give the message from the top leader with optimism but respect your audience enough to be transparent about the difficult road ahead.

Communicate consistently and widely. One all-hands meeting at the beginning of the fiscal year won't cut it. While we did visit every NASA center as part of the annual budget roll-out, that was not the only time NASA employees heard from the organization's leadership team. Even though my title was "press secretary," I was just as much a member of the employee engagement or HR team as anyone else, meeting teammates around the country and globe, listening to their thoughts, and engaging them on what the future could look like.

Communicate in a variety of forms. Just like any message, people need to hear it multiple times before they absorb it—and it cannot be in the same format. The most time-consuming way to reach your employees is the most effective: person-to-person, in small groups, in formal settings, and in casual ones.

And why do person-to-person, small groups and informal settings work? Because they're authentic and real. Unscripted. Genuine. And tailored to the moment and the needs of the people collected at that moment.

Surely, there were likely dozens of people who had the pedigree, the background and the schooling to lead the nation's space agency. What set Charlie apart from others was his ability to connect with people and inspire them - at a time when that was needed most.

So for this week:

• How can you be an authentic communicator?
• How can you coach your leader to leverage their talents and personality to communicate authentically?
• What data and insights can support and underpin your "human" strategy?

I'd love to hear from you in the comments below! Thanks for subscribing.