Why consistent, ordinary conversations create more engaged, more profitable organizations.
My previous post covered the importance of your executive presence (how you show up). One of the key elements is your communication style, and I believe it’s necessary to examine how to improve this.
Imagine how your senior executives would feel when they learn you’ve improved your organization’s operational flexibility while tightening strategic alignment amongst your team.
Better still, you did it without increasing costs or slowing down your processes.
What is this magic pixie dust?
It’s a conversation (hundreds, in fact, but I’ll get to that).
Rather than issuing commands from on high, visionary leaders today practice meaningful, person-to-person discussions.
Let me summarize what I mean by ‘meaningful’.
Four elements of Organizational Conversation reflect the essential attributes of interpersonal conversations. Think of them as the four “I’s.”
Intimacy / Interactivity / Inclusion and Intentionality
They’re not mutually exclusive. Practices are performed consistently and merge to form a single, integrated process.
INTIMACY is about getting close, figuratively as well as literally.
Start by minimizing the distances - institutional, attitudinal and sometimes spatial. This is critical for building trust with your teams. Trust is the outcome of being authentic, curious, and interested.
Speak directly. Demonstrate empathy, and don’t be afraid to show vulnerability. Nobody is perfect 100% of the time. Admitting when you have doubts or have made a mistake builds trust.
INTERACTIVITY is talking WITH an employee - not TO them.
Keep conversations open and fluid, not closed and directive.
Be curious.
Ask questions.
Do they have all the necessary tools and answers to get the job done?
And do they feel supported if they need to raise tough subjects?
Resist the temptation to treat every technological channel within your organization as a megaphone. Communication should be a two-way street, allowing the teams to voice their questions, successes and concerns/complaints. Keep it open.
INCLUSION. The secret here is ownership. Organizational conversations call on employees to participate in generating the content that makes up the company’s ‘story’.
Look to encourage and reward team members who raise emotional engagement amongst their peers. These are your most valuable frontline content providers.
When adequately motivated, you’ll see a healthy sense of ‘co-opetition’. Team members will want to excel and perform at a level equal to (or even better) than the high achievers. This is why inclusion is a critical element within your discussions.
The only word of caution I’d share is that you want to make it clear that employees should feel free to disagree with each other but should not become disagreeable (keep an eye on the team member who habitually stirs discontent).
Lastly, your conversations will be open but not aimless. Frame your INTENTIONALITY, and be clear. There should be an order and meaning behind your leadership lessons, feedback, etc.
The conversation that unfolds within your organization should reflect a shared agenda that aligns with the company’s strategic objectives.
The first three ‘I’s” all open up the flow of information and ideas; intentionality brings closure to your process. It enables everyone to derive strategically relevant action from the push and pull of discussion and debate.
Always. Get. Alignment.
Generate consent rather than commanding assent.
Take the time to explain WHY the vision and logic underlying the executive decisions. This will give your team a big-picture view of where the company stands, what is expected, and what the goals are.
Not every conversation ends with high-fives and happiness. There are still tough discussions that need to be addressed.
If you have created an open dialogue with your teams - practicing the four ‘I’s” - the trust you’ve built over time will help make the experience more positive over the long run.
Comments