Leadership Communication

Leaders have been through an incredible year, marked by profound change and uncertainty with the pandemic and mounting social unrest. That period of crisis, though, has as silver lining – as many leaders have risen to the occasion and learned a lot in the process.

To uncover some of those learnings, I conducted a series of interviews with more than 30 leaders over the past several months. Many of their insights will be shared in my upcoming book, Heart First: Lasting Leader Lessons from a Year that Changed Everything.

We've made a lot of headway leading through tough times brought on by the pandemic. And hidden in tough times, as many of leaders have come to see, is a defining moment to create real, meaningful connections to maintain – if not drive – productivity and minimize the disruptions that come with change. It’s a time to ensure communication is a top priority to minimize the downsides of change (i.e., turnover, employee disengagement, increased absenteeism) and accelerate the upsides (i.e., improved culture, increased engagement, better productivity).

Now More Than Ever, We Need Leadership

If you are like me, summer often serves as a good time to slow down a little and catch up on some reading. If you find yourself with a few extra minutes, take a look here at some of the most-read content on my blog the last few months. There’s a great variety of posts with quick tips and strategies to help you lead and communicate in engaging ways. Top content ranges from delivering difficult messages and connecting with hard-to-reach employees, to how to spark dialogue with your team and communicate your strategic plan. There’s also guidance on why you should measure communications within your organization, the power of storytelling, leadership communication fundamentals, and more.

10 Most-Read Leadership & Communication Blogs in Q2 2021

What an unforgettable time we are living in today. With the pandemic and social unrest that we confronted over the past year, 2020 changed us in enduring ways. As we see from our remote and hybrid work, reduced travel, abundance of video meetings, and new awakenings on equity and inclusion in the workforce, it’s clear that the way we work and lead will never be quite the same.

The Incredible Lessons We’ve Learned

I started out in 2020 wanting to explore the concept of leading through change with a new book. In more than three decades working with leaders across industries, I’ve seen a lot of what works, and what doesn’t, and I wanted to share those findings to help others.

Delivering difficult messages is at the very core of dealing with the tough situations many leaders face.

I was working with a leader who was preparing to make some significant changes in his organization’s structure, including people changes. As we talked more, and his eyes welled up with tears, I realized how tough these decisions were for him. In the end, it was the right thing to do—his customers’ needs had changed; the market had changed, and his organization wasn’t set up for success. 

I don’t know any senior management team that doesn’t spend days, weeks, working tirelessly on their organization’s strategic plan. And for many of our clients, we’re privileged to help as thought partners throughout that process. 

Senior leaders review the data, envision the future, and shape it into a cohesive entity that fits on a piece of paper. It’s pretty amazing, really. And it’s one of the toughest challenges any team faces: to articulate the strategy that’s going to get you the results Wall Street and others expect. 

A good story brings ideas to life and inspires listeners to imagine themselves in the storyteller’s place as events unfold and lessons are learned. The vicarious experiences audiences feel when hearing stories can build an emotional connection – sensory details, actions and language that are part of a good story make the message memorable and impactful.

Communication isn't someone else's responsibility, it's yours. As the leader, the buck stops with you. Embrace communication as an important part of your job and understand that poor communication in the company overall is ultimately on you.

Be Accountable for Communication with Your Employees

You spend hours as a management team working tirelessly on your organization’s strategic plan. Data points are reviewed, the future is envisioned, and words are carefully chosen to describe where you go from here.

You leave your two-day meeting confident in your strategic plan and energized about your path forward.

But what do you really have? A document summarizing your management meeting.

It might contain your strategic plan, but it’s just another document until it is shared and activated through your employees.