A recently released study conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit suggests that having more ways to communicate doesn’t necessarily equate to better communication. To the contrary, the results suggest that internal communications activities remain problematic and have serious ramifications for an organization’s success. 

It often seems there is an invisible rubber band tethering a person to their past, to what we know to be safe and familiar. If you have studied Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs or think about your own experiences, you will recognize this human trait. For purposes of this blog, let me call this the personal elasticity of change.  

Welcome to my weekly round-up of the best-of-the-best recent leadership and communication blog posts. 

• Building a High-Performance Team: A Frontline Festival
  Via Karin Hurt and David Dye (@LetsGrowLeaders and @davidmdye), Let's Grow Leaders
  
  A host of leadership thought leaders share their tips and insights on building a high-performance team, from defining what a high-performance team is to building and leading them.
  
  “Employee recognition can be a powerful tool that can enhance team performance and motivate employees to take their work to the next level. Recognition can take many forms, so start by asking yourself these four questions, and then get the three must-have components to make sure it resonates with your employees....”
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Welcome to my weekly round-up of the best-of-the-best recent leadership and communication blog posts. 

• Google Spent 2 Years Researching What Makes a Great Remote Team. It Came Up With These 3 Things
  By Justin Bariso (@JustinJBariso via @Inc), Inc.
  
  With remote teams comes many challenges and to overcome them requires a unique set of rules. Google recommends three things to making great remote teams.
  
  “In a quest to establish what makes remote teams successful, Google's People Innovation Lab (PiLab) spent the past two years studying more than 5,000 employees. They measured well-being, performance, and connectedness (among other things) and came up with recommendations on how to keep things consistent, even if your team is spread out across the globe...”
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Whether you are a highly matrixed, multisite healthcare system undergoing a merger, or global pharmaceutical or medical device company expanding its portfolio, the common thread is complexity. 

Even with such rampant murkiness, one thing is very clear: good employee communication can turn strategy into action and keep employees focused on what matters, help them navigate through the change, and minimize disruption that can slow productivity, performance and engagement.

Welcome to my weekly round-up of the best-of-the-best recent leadership and communication blog posts. 

• 6 Key Elements of a Healthy Culture
  By Skip Prichard (@SkipPrichard), Leadership Insights
  
  Find out what the definition of workplace culture is, why it's important, common leadership mistakes when thinking about culture, and steps to take to improve your workplace culture.
  
  “Workplace culture is really about how people behave and interact. This includes how decisions are made, how disagreements are voiced, how conflict is resolved, and how people connect when they pass in the hall...”
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