At a recent leadership team meeting, a senior leader shared an insight that resonated incredibly well with the group.

When discussing how to accelerate the organization’s ability to deliver on their strategy, and the support leaders needed, he said:

“You provide the information, and I'll provide the inspiration.”

Now that’s what I call leadership!

Here’s what he knew (that every leader should know):

• He’s accountable to communicate with his teams and to help them translate strategy into action -- as a team and as individuals.  He’s not waiting for someone else – whether it’s a member of senior leadership or the communications team – to do it for him.
• Organizations aren’t great at inspiring people; leaders inspire.  He’s best equipped to motivate his people.
• Moving people to action takes creating an emotional connection with others.  In this case, he realized the importance of painting a picture of the future and encouraging his team to join him.  Facts and context are important, but it’s tapping hearts that’s most powerful and meaningful for employees. 

If I could have given him a standing ovation, I would have.  As it were, I already was standing, facilitating.  Needless to say, I was beaming because I knew he got it.  Then the CEO chimed in to reinforce this mindset and approach.

In what ways are you providing not just information but inspiration for your team?

- David Grossman

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Culture change is a journey that takes time and effort at every level in the organization. 

A strong corporate culture is necessary for strong company performance.  And if you are going through or planning a culture change in your organization, know this:  Organizations with effective change and communication are 3.5 times as likely to significantly outperform their peers but only one in four change projects are successful in the long run.¹

With that in mind, we’ve put together a tip sheet, 10 Tips for Guiding Culture Change, to help you set up your organization’s culture change for success.  Each of the 10 tips provided include a brief description on how to achieve them.

Some of the topics include:

• Set your sights on long-term success, not just quick wins
• Create a guiding coalition of “change agents”
• Ensure leaders are able, ready and accountable
• Listen carefully and respond religiously
• Assess and create communication channels

And 5 more!

The desired culture is formed when words get translated into daily actions, and actions inside the culture reinforce the words.

You can’t achieve your goals unless employees understand where they’re going.  They want to know what’s expected of them so they can make a meaningful contribution. Use this tip sheet to help you get there and keep everyone up to date on your company’s changes.

Download—10 Tips for Guiding Culture Change— and get insights to help ensure your organization’s culture change is a success.

¹2013-2014 Towers Watson Change and Communication ROI Study Report

Being a good leader doesn’t happen by luck. It happens because those individuals have a strong sense of self-awareness, and seek input and feedback from not just their boss and their peers, but even more importantly, their employees.

I always urge leaders to try this if it’s not part of the way they work, and they’re often surprised by how honest and considerate the feedback is that they get.

But the work doesn’t stop there.

As a leader, when your employees share their thoughts, your work is just beginning. 

This is the time when you need to take action on their feedback.  No matter whether you plan to implement their suggestions or not, you need to close the loop with employees to let them know one of three things:

1. You’re implementing their solution, and the rationale
2. You’re implementing a modified version of their suggestion, and the rationale for that
3. You’re not planning to implement their solution, and the rationale for that

In all cases, you cover the “what” – what you plan to do, and then the “why.”  This helps employees know how you think (what guides your decision making), which allows them to think more like you in the future.  It also might open a conversation for how others might ask you to think differently about a specific problem or opportunity.

Finally, when you communicate about the solution, don’t forget to mention where the idea came from and recognize the employee for their valuable perspective. 

When employees know their input is heard and valued they will be more willing to share their feedback in the future. They will also feel more engaged when they know their thoughts and insights are valued.

Put yourself in your employee’s shoes. If you feel like your important thoughts are being heard and making a difference, wouldn’t you be more likely to give a little extra effort, to be more loyal? Wouldn’t you be a bit more engaged?

Soliciting employee feedback is one thing, but the proof that you take it seriously comes from taking action.

What opportunities do you have today to listen and take action on employee feedback?

- David Grossman

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Want to lead in a way that engages and motivates employees? Check out our ebook that provides high-level tips and tools to equip your leadership toolbox.

Welcome to my weekly round-up of top leadership and communication blog posts. As many of you know, each week I read and tweet several great articles and on Fridays, I pull some of my favorites together here on my blog.

This week you’ll see articles on encouraging transparency in the workplace, the importance of being mindful to better navigate your daily life, and inspiration from one of America’s great leaders, Abraham Lincoln.  These articles will provide you with tips, strategies and thought-starters from many of the smart folks in my network. So whether you’re a new leader or an industry veteran there’ll be something here for you.

• You Can’t Advertise Your Way to a Great Customer Experience
  By Jon Picoult, Carrier Management
  “What would it take to convince people that your business delivers a great customer experience? For tech giant Microsoft, the answer was more than $1 billion.  That’s how much the company reportedly spent on its Windows 8 marketing campaign…”
• 6 Ideas for Creating a Culture of Transparency
  By Avi Singer, Switch & Shift
  “You might have heard how Google provides transparency reports showing open information about laws and policies affecting its users.  Some companies take transparency a step further, providing open access to…”
• How Bosses Can Encourage Transparency in the Workplace
  By Robert V. Keteyian, Fast Company
  “Professional development conversations are an important part of any company culture, but how do you create an environment where everyone is eager to engage in these high-value conversations…”
• 7 Life Changing Leadership Lessons From Lincoln
  By Lolly Daskal, Inc.
  “Abraham Lincoln's life and presidency are a lesson in great leadership qualities.  Some of his abilities were natural; others were consciously developed over the course of his life. Many are still relevant today…”
• Success From the Inside Out
  By Dr. Joel and Michelle Levey, Melcrum
  “Mindfulness. If you’re still thinking this is merely a touchy-feely trend practiced by yogis, creatives and the business elite – you’re way behind. Thousands of people in organizations around the world are now benefiting from…”

What were some of the top leadership articles you read this week?

-          David Grossman 

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Discover the best practices to connect directly with employees for a motivated and inspired workforce. Download our ebook, "The A List Part 1: Communicate Your Way to Great Leadership" today!

Over the course of my career many leaders have lamented this: “Little I say seems to be resonating!?!?”

Although this can be very frustrating, it certainly does not mean that you should just stop communicating (as I’ve also heard…)

Knowing Your Audience

Problem:

Most likely, the failure to communicate effectively an indicator that you need to take more time to find out what makes your audience tick, and how and when they’re most receptive to information.

Solution:

Think about any questions and concerns they might have that will impede their ability to hear you. By anticipating audience needs and concerns, you can ensure that you shape your message in a way that will resonate with your listeners.

The Real Communications Challenge

As challenging as it can feel to state your thoughts clearly and concisely, the real challenge is shaping those thoughts clearly and concisely for your audience.

Employees (and any audience) want you to appeal to them in terms that speak to them and their needs, often on a personal and emotional level—yes, even if you’re just talking about work.

Especially if you’re talking about work.

When leaders don’t understand their audiences’ needs or perspectives, they make these two common missteps:

• They mistake any communication for good communication
• They communicate from their perspective instead of the audience’s

Your Communication Role as a Leader

As a leader it’s your job to use communication to help your audience make the connection between business objectives and their role in helping you meet them. But it’s important to understand that before you can get to the business big picture, you’ll need to address employees’ personal needs first.

At the end of the day, employees want to know “What’s in it for me?”

They might articulate that need in any number of ways:

• “How does this affect me?”
• “What does this have to do with me?”
• “What should I be doing?”
• “Does anyone care about me?”

The Solution: Know Your Audience

Know your audience and speak to them. There’s real magic in addressing your audience’s needs first. When you do your audience is more likely to trust you, and as a result be more generous, open and receptive to big-picture, strategic communication.

All communication should always be tailored to the specific audience to make them aware of their role in the organizational whole.

That’s what leads to engagement and the discretionary effort all of us want.

Then, you can truly inspire employees to action as only a great leader can by giving them feelings of significance, community, and excitement through your communications.

Specifically as a leader you should:

• Contextualize organizational information to ensure your team understands how it fits in.
• Craft information so that it’s relevant to individual employees and teams.
• Provide job-related information so that individuals and teams can do their jobs effectively.

When it comes right down to it, it doesn’t matter what you say, it’s whether you can make it relevant to your employees.

Have you developed the right mindset to serve your audience in a way that will work with them? 

-David Grossman

Originally featured on Linked 2 Leadership, May 2013

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Learn more communication skills and learn how to lead better than ever before. Download The Courageous Communicator Quest, today!

Whether you are just beginning to think about the importance of internal communication, are in the midst of an existing plan, or fine-tuning a well-oiled communications machine, the bottom line is that this is all about the bottom line.

At its core, communication is an instrument of strategy as well as a strategy in itself. It’s an instrument of strategy because it helps you share your mission, vision and values with employees. It’s a strategy because it will help you achieve specific goals. It creates a sense of community and trust with employees, creating a line of sight for them and engaging them to make the business successful.

So what’s the payoff?

1. Employees understand the big picture and how they fit in. They feel valued, listened to, and like an important part of the team and the organization.
2. Employees are more productive and there is meaning to their work. As a result, they contribute more and feel better about their contribution and the organization so they stay on the job and help move the business forward.
3. Better leaders. Communication isn’t just tactical anymore; it’s about strategy. In this context, leaders are better able to understand employee needs and how to meet those needs to motivate, inspire and engage them.
4. Vigilant managers who have an ear to the ground. For managers and organizations to attract, create and retain an engaged workforce, they must be committed for the long haul. Building the trust and credibility to keep employees engaged requires effort, but it’s worth it. It takes only seconds to lose employee connection and interest.
5. A culture of communication. The employee engagement journey is a continuous one. Communication is not an “event.” It is a continuous process. You must work every day to ask the right questions, answer others appropriately, and communicate openly and honestly with employees. When they see you making that extra effort, they’ll do the same. By moving away from lip service and toward positive action, you drive positive business results.

Organizations that understand, prioritize and constantly strive to achieve better internal communication are a breed apart. They achieve trust and credibility. They enable employees to do their jobs better. They create a constructive workplace that encourages growth and a common sense of purpose.

 From all this, there can only be one result: higher levels of performance and better business results.

In what ways do you see strong internal communication paying off in your organization?

- David Grossman

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Learn from real-life scenarios how to deliver effective communications to your employees. Check out our Take5 ™ to Communicate Well e-Learning course!

Welcome to my weekly round-up of top leadership and communication blog posts. Each week I read and tweet several great articles and on Fridays I pull some of the best together here on my blog. So in case you’ve missed them, here is this week’s round-up of top posts.

They’ll provide you with tips, strategies and thought-starters from many of the smart folks in my network. So whether you’re a new leader or an industry veteran there’ll be something here for you.

• 7 Things Employees Never Say to Their Bosses (But Should)
  By Jeff Haden, Inc.
  “Your employees have a lot of thoughts. Most of those thoughts they don't share, especially with you.  At times their silence can be a good thing, especially where your ego--or their employment status--is concerned, but their silence also may…”
• How Forethought (Not Intuition) Separates the Good from the Great
  By Jeff Stibel, Harvard Business Review
  “What is your No. 1 time waster? Without question, the task that consumes the most time each day for most people is email. Some people receive as many as 300 emails in a single…”
• Fostering Success in the Workplace
  By Lisa Shelley, Switch & Shift
  “Your employees not only want to succeed, they need to feel successful.  Contrary to the premise behind many traditional management approaches, people want to contribute – we all have a basic need to be productive…”
• How to Engage with Your Employees as a Collective
  By Mark Lukens, Fast Company
  “We often talk about engagement in terms of individual employees and how we encourage them to engage with their work. But there’s another form of workforce engagement that is also important for businesses and particularly important…”
• Learn to Tell a Great Story
  By Naphtali Hoff, SmartBlog on Leadership
  “Now more than ever great leaders are great storytellers. Storytelling helps executives weave rich narratives that inspire their organizations, set a vision, teach important lessons, and define the culture and values. Perhaps most importantly…”

What were some of the top leadership articles you read this week?

-          David Grossman 

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Get essential tips for connecting and communicating with employees to achieve measurable, meaningful growth.  Download The Leader Differential: Five Steps to Thrive (Not Just Survive), today!