Ask a CEO if the executive team communicates its goals, plans
and expectations to staff, and you'll hear a resounding "yes." Ask
rank-and-file employees the same question, and you'll frequently
get a different answer (and probably not so positive). Why the gap
in perception? At the corporate level, reality is filtered through
several lenses. Here are a few "settings" designed for senior PR
execs that spread trust by employee standards:
Look For The Negative Spin
All C-level executives think they're clear or they wouldn't have
said it or written the words as they did. That's where the PR team
shines. Identify the ways a message can be misunderstood and
interpreted in a negative light, and then "translate" or revise the
message before it hits the hallways.
Don't Let Them Imagine The Intentions
Organizations are rife with CEO gobbledygook -- e-mails, memos,
slides and speeches meant to obscure rather than to clarify. Not
only does this produce confusion, it leads employees to question
the company's intentions. Trust goes down the toilet. Case in
point: I was leading a communication workshop at an oil-and-gas
organization when employees trudged into the room, waving a memo
and grumbling. I asked to see the memo (from the CEO), and an
employee obliged. It looked like a positive PR spin on an
announcement that the company was going through tough economic
times and needed everyone's commitment.
"So what is everybody so upset about?" I prodded.
The employee pointed to a single sentence in the middle of a
final paragraph, saying, "See that? They're bringing in Booz Allen
Hamilton to restructure and lay off divisions." I clarified, "So
people are afraid they're going to lose their jobs?" He shook his
head. "We already know that. What people are upset about is that
management's trying to put one over on us," he answered. "A single
sentence. Buried. They hope nobody notices."
The moral of the story: Intentions called into question drown
out the words.
Shadow The Executive To Create Personal Awareness
Years ago, the CEO of a large financial organization called me
with a strange consulting assignment: He wanted me to analyze
writing samples of four executive VPs to interpret their management
styles. I hesitated, unsure if such traits/competencies surfaced in
someone's writing, yet the CEO insisted.
Although I hadn't met any of the EVPs, my analyses were on
target, according to the CEO. In subsequent one-on-one conferences
with the EVPs, they were astonished that various attitudes I
pointed out came through in their written communications. In the
years since, I've seen this same shocked look on faces in the
C-suite - oblivion regarding their personal body language, speaking
patterns and listening habits. Shadow your executives for a day or
week to create in them personal awareness about their communication
competencies.
Dianna Booher is CEO of Booher Consultants (Dallas), a
communication consulting and training firm. Booher, author of
"Speak with Confidence, E-Writing" and "Communicate with
Confidence," among others, can be reached at
1.800.342.6621.