Plan Your Communication – Courageous Communicator Quest Challenge 7

Welcome back! After completing the last Challenge, how do you feel getting your vision down onto paper? This will serve as a strategic framework for which all leaders and employees operate. 

Now that you have formally written your vision down, the next step is to plan and be purposeful in communicating it to your team and employees to move your vision forward. Communicating well accelerates the path to your goals, which brings us to your next Challenge… 

Challenge 7: Plan Your Communication 

The Myth 

Great leaders don’t trouble themselves with communication; they just get things done. 

The Truth 

Often people in charge assume that as long as they have ideas, a vision, and a sense of purpose that will be enough to lead the way forward. If only it were that easy. Good leaders know that communicating their vision, painting a picture of it, and helping people understand how it will affect them can make the difference between being a leader in name and a leader in practice. Well thought-out, audience-focused messages are also more likely to move your audience to action. 

The Courageous Communicator Challenge 

Take the time to plan the communication of your vision in the coming week. Use these 5 steps to map that communication out. Then, ensure that every communication you send this week clearly communicates your vision. And do it again, week after week. 

1. Outcome – What do you want to accomplish at the highest-level? What’s the business outcome you seek? Define it as specifically as you can.

2. Audience – Are you communicating to an individual or group? What is your relationship? What perspective might they have and what information do they need? What are their concerns? The more you know the better you are able to influence the audience. In the end, what do you want your audience to think? How do you want your audience to feel? What do you want your audience to do?

3. Messages – Think about the “who, what, when, where, why and how” of what you are communicating. Be sure to explain your intention and be direct in a caring way, especially when addressing difficult issues.

4. Tactics – Is the message best delivered face-to-face, one-on-one, through e-mail or in another way? Consider the limitations and possible impact of each option. Important topics, like communicating your vision, deserve face-to-face communication, or at least voice-to-voice communication.

5. Measurement – How will you evaluate how well your message is being received? Body language or verbal response? Other feedback mechanisms? One way is by analyzing questions employees ask—if they are looking forward and asking how a new situation might work, your message is getting through. If they are challenging your assumptions or want to take a step back, you could do a better job communicating.

Being more purposeful in your communications and communicating well should actually save you time and energy. To get these steps in an easy-to-use template, you can download it here. 

How does your current way of communicating your vision stand up to this method? 

—David Grossman 

We’ll see you next week for the 3^rd part in this journey and the 8^th Challenge where we’ll focus on Developing Empathy and Embracing Kindness and Caring. 

If you are just joining us in our Courageous Communicator Quest Challenge, take a moment to start from the beginning here. 

Refer back to previous challenges here:

• Challenge 1 - Know Your Authentic Self
• Challenge 2 - Become Self Aware (Walk the Talk)
• Challenge 3 - Disclose Yourself to Others
• Challenge 4 - Stay True to Yourself Under Pressure (Integrity)
• Challenge 5 – Develop an Accurate Picture of the Business
• Challenge 6 – Envision the Future

Use this template to map out your communication— whether it’s to one person, a group or an organization: