Note to self. I must stop going out at weekends and ending up sitting next to people at dinner who want me to help them communicate better with their staff but would like my gratis top tips for it between the main course and pudding! This weekend's impromptu surgery/counselling session took place during a wedding reception and actually did involve me writing on the back of a napkin - albeit one with lovely confetti shapes on it.
All common sense, of course, but it still amazes me how much common sense gets overlooked in the hurly burly of business life.
My top tips for the lovely manager sitting on my right (cousin of the bride, no less) are repeated here and are in no particular order:
- Communicate with integrity: tell the truth always and without exception. If you don’t know the answer, say you will find out and come back to people
- Make time to communicate and make the most of that time
- Remember the basics: people want to know the who, what, where, when, why and how of any communication and ‘what’s in it for me?’
- Think about what you want people to Think, Feel and Do as a result of any communication
- Use stories. The right anecdote can be worth a thousand theories or facts and people are more likely to remember them
- Build trust and credibility. Be visible and approachable, engage the people who work with you openly and fully
- Check for understanding. Ask questions and provide context and further information if needed.
I would add - and again it sounds obvious on paper, but all too different in reality - prioritise your people and teams. Put them first and everything will suddenly be that bit easier in communicating messages more widely. A classic and oft repeated management mistake seems to be an obsession with those further up the hierarchy at the expense of those people all around you - the direct reports and team members who are your greatest assets who will allow you to take action and get things done quickly. Commit the time to them upfront first, and they'll work hard for you, developing lots of great communication and provide evidence and feedback from the wider community about what's working and what's not, which you can then share with leadership. This shouldn't be rocket science, but human nature is an odd fish!
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