"Overcommunicate," Every Time.

Overcommunication to some is under-communication to others. That’s why, especially in busy times, you'll get the best results from your team if you overcommunicate every time.

Going into this holiday, for example, I mentioned my upcoming out-of-office dates verbally in a meeting; made it a bullet point at the top of a meeting agenda; and wrote it in my Friday look-ahead memo, in addition to the traditional out-of-office message on my e-mail and Teams. And wouldn’t you know it: I still received two notes within the first 30 minutes of my first day off from teammates asking if I was working or not that day.

From my point of view, I had overcommunicated my time off. But from the POV of the person who reached out to me, they clearly didn’t recall the message.?

Being out of the office around the holidays is an incredibly minor thing; folks would have figured it out one way or another. But when we’re in “crisis mode” or managing a very large and complex project, my experience is that “overcommunication” is key to mission success.

Point #1: Communicate in more than one way. Meet with your team as a whole to share with them the topline version of needed information. When possible, include this as the subject of the meeting invite (i.e., Meeting to Discuss Upcoming Out of Offices) so that when folks gather for the meeting, they are clear on the purpose and the outcomes. Follow up this meeting with a written note (email is typical but if your team leans more on Teams/Slack, etc, share there). And where necessary, follow up 1-to-1.

Point #2: Hold regular meetings/connects/tag ups when you’re working a huge event. Do this at the same time everyday; have an agenda; make sure everyone speaks.

Whether it’s planning our district Back to School, managing communications for an out-of-town industry event, or reviewing our amplification plan for the Olympics, part of the pre-work should be to schedule regular tag-ups with your team. The event you’re working on should be the only topic for the meeting. Start with a status update, then go around to each person on the team for any updates or a status report and answer any questions. One person’s question might trigger another one, so that’s why keeping the whole team in the loop is critical.

Point #3: You’re never too busy as a leader or manager to keep your team in the loop. At times you might need to designate the responsibility of managing or connecting with the team, but you should always prioritize effective internal communications if you want the best result. Being in the fray, you likely have all the details right in your brain, but it’s critical for all members of your team to be engaged as well.

P.S. I know we all hate phones. But if you need to reach someone urgently (like calling off sick during an activation etc,) do not email or text that. Pick up the phone and call your manager or leader.

What advice do you have for communicating with teams? What challenges have you faced? Think I’m wrong about overcommunication? Share your thoughts in the comments and subscribe to my newsletter for more tips like this.?