“Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.”
—ALFRED LORD TENNYSON, “CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE”
The Charge of the Light Brigade is one of my favorite poems that beautifully sums up a tragic episode from history. This poem brilliantly narrates the tale of the incredibly brave but failed military charge led by Lord Cardigan against the Russian forces at the Battle of Balaklava (1854) during the Crimean War (1853-56). It talks of the disastrous mistake, the result of misinformation and miscommunication. It resulted from a brilliant strategic decision followed by poor communication and execution. This poem is of critical significance for every leader. It reinforces how an organization can flourish or doom based on the kind of communication practices that they follow. Recently, the industry witnessed a strong example of "how not to communicate" when a large global company fired people online.
Now more than ever, organizations need to be sensitive, empathetic and reach out to associates at a personal level. In addition, leaders must understand the various facets of changing communication and interaction styles in the hybrid workplace as they adapt to the new normal.
While our way of working has altered, the basic underlying core of leadership communication remains intact. you have to be authentic and constantly connecting with employees.’
This blog discusses the changing business landscape and the tenets of effective leadership communication for employees.
Business today is “change, innovation, and disruption", and communication is right at the center of this and is a key performance driver. Here are a few things to remember to maximize this performance driver.
Five Tenets of Internal Communication
Say it Simple, Say it as Is
Long lists of agendas, priorities, mission statements, and initiatives are great tools for organizations as long as they also deliver clarity, focus, and action. Unfortunately, more often than not we get so carried away with putting many thoughts on paper that we have heavily worded strategy documents and decks that deliver no value.
It is essential that leadership communication gets rid of the babble and focuses on providing employees with the direction and motivation they need to support strategy. The communication approach should bring simplicity, clarity, and meaning to strategic direction.
Use different internal communication channels but stick to single messaging
Staying Consistent is the Mantra. In the current era of digitalization, there are brilliant tools for reaching out to associates and collaborating across different teams. Using a little creativity, the leadership team can use other messaging channels for internal communication and also leverages everyday conversations among managers and employees to communicate, discuss, and reinforce what needs to be accomplished, how, and why. While using these constant messaging challenges, just remember one thing- "Constant Messaging needs to go hand-in-hand with Consistent Messaging."
Be mindful-Always
We have all mastered communication while working from home. Some of us were very familiar with virtual communication long before the pandemic caused most of the world to work away from the office. The goal of virtual communication is the same as in-person interaction: be clear and be valuable. However, be mindful of your language, tone, and timing. Virtual communication demands extra care as your expressions, words and messages live forever in the digital world.
Respect Diversity and Cultural Sensitivity
As we become part of a global workforce and an increasingly diverse environment, it is imperative to understand different cultures' language nuances and be more aware of cultural sensitivity.
And most importantly Embrace Empathy
If there was a time when our co-workers needed empathy more than ever, it is now. Empathy and genuine concern can genuinely help those around us and assist overall employee wellbeing. When Empathy comes from the leadership team, it also seeps into the corporate culture, and hence leadership needs to be more cognizant about it. Choose your words mindfully, choose your words well to establish true, strong bonds and connections with one another, and go beyond in creating lasting relationships.
Going Further
To sum up, the essence of business is to do with people, with their simple needs and expectations regardless of technological advances. And internal communication has a significant role to play in it. So choose your words well and pivot your organization to its next best.
