TOP TIPS: Don't forget the basics of being a good communicator
You don’t need to be a brilliant speaker to effectively engage with employees, but you do have to be a frequent communicator. Volvo's vice president of communication Anne Bast shares her six tips to becoming a better communicator.
The ability to effectively engage with employees is a prerequisite for good leadership, and essential for business success. But you don’t have to be a Martin Luther King Jr., Barack Obama, Mahatma Gandhi or Winston Churchill to get your company’s people on your side. In fact, the secret to being a good communicator is often not the rousing speech from the podium, but things that are more mundane.
1. Encourage open dialogue
Great communicative leaders are those that build credibility and trust by creating a cultural environment that encourages open dialogue. Being visible and approachable is part of this, but so is keeping messages clear and simple to understand. It’s not all about giving out, either. Leaders have to be good listeners, inviting feedback, valuing it and opening up avenues for communication to flow - in both directions.
2. Regularity of communication is key
Employees value few things higher than being considered sufficiently important to be told what’s going on. Not only will well informed, engaged and motivated employees help your company achieve its strategic objectives (and all the financial success that brings with it), it also "future proofs" the company, thanks to higher levels of employee satisfaction and loyalty, a willingness to embrace change – and an improved corporate culture that makes yours a nicer place to work.
The modern communicator is no longer a reactive and under-rated functionary - they are increasingly influential in helping to set and achieve the strategic course ahead.
3. Simplicity plus Repetition equals Retention
As with PR or advertising, you can’t assume that your internal audience has absorbed (or even heard) your message the first time - no matter how beautifully crafted it is. Communication should be regular if it is to be effective. It’s a cliché, but the old phrase "Simplicity plus Repetition equals Retention" still holds true.
4. Good communication cannot be delegated
The senior management team sets the tone for the whole company, and must lead by example. This is because corporate messages are much more effective and convincing if enthusiastically espoused by company leaders. Achieving this is easier than it sounds, as many leaders of large enterprises are charismatic, engaging, impressive individuals who are good communicators. But even great communicators need to be managed.
5. Remember: it's a symbiotic relationship
Senior managers now accept the notion that they need to communicate - more and better. They also accept that they need to rely on experts to help them direct their communication efforts in the most effective manner. Communicators’ relationships with their senior leadership teams are symbiotic. Leaders need their communications teams to translate corporate strategies into communication strategies - and communicators need senior managers to promote those messages in order to give them maximum publicity, and the best chance of being read and understood by employees.
Senior managers increasingly appreciate the role that internal communications plays in setting the direction and helping ensure that important messages are heard – and understood – by all employees. This is good news for internal comms: the modern communicator is no longer a reactive and under-rated functionary - they are increasingly influential in helping to set - and achieve - the strategic course ahead.
6. Where necessary, act as a gatekeeper
Because of confidentiality, not everything can be communicated always. It’s our job to advise leaders where to draw the line. As well as helping leaders to communicate more, communicators are also useful in acting as a gatekeeper to what messages are communicated.
Have your say
What qualities and charateristics do you think one needs to be a good communicator? Do you work with senior leaders to ensure maximum effectiveness for communication? How do you work with them? Share you stories with us below.
Recommended resources:
TOP TIPS: Five fast ways to increase your communication influence
How Westpac gets the most from its communicators
How language choices can make or break your communication
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