Long-term, rock solid strategic plans may be relics of the past, but future scenario planning is in vogue. One of Communications most critical tasks is to communicate strategy so that employees work in alignment with the company’s key priorities.

Today, as priorities shift frequently and employees are overwhelmed with information, it’s harder than ever to not only communicate the company strategy, but fully enable it to be implemented through good communication.

If you really want your strategy to stick, we think that you need to create a forum for conversation with and among employees that focuses on what’s behind the strategy; that is, the market context and assumptions that underpin it. After all, employee understanding of this important, but little discussed information is a top-three driver of employee agility.

To consider the difference, let’s explore two alternative communication approaches to strategy kickoffs—a common vehicle used to “share strategy”. In the first, the strategy is communicated at a large town hall. In the second, the assumptions or influences on the strategy are used to generate conversation among employees and enable them to make decisions daily in line with strategy.

The Straightforward Approach

At Company A, the Communications team organizes a major strategy kickoff session at the beginning of each year. Employees at headquarters crowd into an auditorium while those at regional offices dial-in to listen to the standard hour-long teleconference. The CEO and his cadre of senior leaders run through the company’s top four or five priorities for the year. In sparse PowerPoint slides, they explain the “why” behind the strategy and paint a picture of what success will look like. Bold, energizing statements like “In five years, we will be the number one retailer of socks in Brazil!” flow freely.

As the hour draws to a close, the CEO asks employees if they have any questions. Rare, however, is the organization where an employee questions and challenges a strategy in a room with peers and her manager. And so, the strategy effectively communicated, employees race back to their desks and full Outlook inboxes, and pick up where they left off, the new strategy already a vague memory. Read More »

Last week our post, Where Kotter’s 8 Steps Gets it Wrong, generated lots of great discussion in the comments section about leading change at organizations. In this post we interview Kathy Gersch, the Chief Marketing Officer at Kotter International, Dr. John Kotter’s change company that seeks to build leaders’ capability to drive transformation in their organizations.

Change Management v. Change Communication v. Change Leadership

The CEC (Kayleigh): People often conflate “change management” with “change communication”. What is the difference between these two concepts and what is the danger of combining them?

Kathy Gersch, CMO Kotter International: I think it’s important to first differentiate between “change management,” which is what almost everyone thinks of when they think of organizational change, and “change leadership,” which is what Dr. Kotter advocates and what we do at Kotter International.

• Change management is often focused on incremental improvements with a goal of minimizing the impact a change has on an organization.
• Change leadership is disruptive by design. It gives people the freedom to change in a way that propels an organization forward in leaps and bounds.
• Change communication is too often focused on the communication about the change that has already been determined by leadership or a small committee.

Communication plays an essential role in any change process, but the quality of leadership is what determines success. Relegating communication to a reporting function (which is generally the case in change management) is problematic because it does not drive engagement.  The concepts of “leading” and “communicating” are much more complementary, as the act of leading (establishing direction, aligning people, motivating and inspiring) is inherently centered on good communication.

CEC Members: Help build “change leadership” at your company with an empowerment workshop by GlaxoSmithKline’s CPSE.

Determining What’s Urgent

The CEC: At some organizations Kotter’s first step, “Create a Sense of Urgency,” is taken too seriously, that is, every initiative is thought of as urgent! In today’s environment of constant change, it’s impossible for employees to contribute to the number of “urgent changes” required by the business. What can a communicator do to diagnose and push back against “false urgency” created by the business?

Read More »

They may be experts at setting strategy and managing a leading organization, but unfortunately not all of our CEOs can walk up to a podium with confidence and truly engage their employees, investors, or stakeholder audience.  How about your CFO? CIO? Are they able to lead a presentation that captures and keeps the audiences’ attention and teaches them something?

Coaching the leaders of the organization to be better communicators with their respective stakeholders is a critical skill of today’s communicators—and one that our skills maturity assessment highlights as a common development area for today’s communicators. Our goal here at the CEC is to help you be a better coach, and thus enable better communication across your organization.

Recently, the oh-so-talented team of executive advisors at the Corporate Executive Board gathered for a few days of training (yep–we’re trying to make our presentations more engaging and effective for our members as well!). Below are 10 of the top tips from CEB’s masters of effective presentations. Share them with your leaders in your next coaching session! Read More »

By Kirsten Robinson

When it comes to employee and executive relations within a company, a little extra face time can go a long way. Establishing a connection between lower-level employees and C-level executives can help boost office morale, and increase the staff’s discretionary effort.

But, given everyone’s busy schedules, it’s often too difficult to create those connections.

So, what can you do to improve executive visibility with employees?

A member recently posed this question in our Employee Communications Forum, sparking a dialogue between executives offering suggestions on new and creative ways to reach the employee base. We also had a similar question asked separately in the forum, specifically on connecting the CEO with staff.

Here are a few key takeaways from the two discussions:

• Solicit Q&A. Companies have found success posting a “solicitation” for questions, and then asking the CEO or executive to answer them in a video posting. While other forms of media can be used to deliver answers, being able to see the executive speaking is a particularly authentic way. Read More »

Having recently embarked upon a project about how progressive companies communicate organizational change, I’ve found myself scanning this week’s news with a fresh perspective.

As readers with more than a passing interest in the English Premier League may have noticed, Arsenal FC were acquired this week by American businessman, Stan Kroenke, owner of numerous sports franchises in Colorado. This is part of a wider trend of foreign owners investing in English football, with recent takeovers having also occurred at clubs Liverpool FC and Blackburn Rovers.

Each acquiring party has inherited different scenarios, and each has communicated the change with a mixed bag of results…

Enlightened Continuity

In Arsenal FC, Mr. Kroenke has acquired a successful business, in excellent financial health. Amid the uncertainty that comes with new ownership/leadership, he has been quick to allay fears of sea-change amongst key stakeholder groups, such as supporters:

“Arsenal are a fantastic club with a special history and tradition and a wonderful manager in Arsene Wenger. We intend to build on this rich heritage and take the club to new success.”

Rather than leap straight in with sweeping change, Kroenke has adopted the mantra, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ – he has aligned himself with the popular former shareholders, providing continuity for key stakeholder groups such as supporters, and playing staff. Read More »

By Kirsten Robinson

Good communication skills are fundamental to every successful relationship. In time for the holidays, let’s think about the film Home Alone in which series of miscommunications results in young Kevin being left behind while the rest of his family travels to Paris over Christmas. And while the boy successfully fends off burglars, I can’t imagine anyone would be happy with such a scary misunderstanding.

Poor communication doesn’t just affect personal relationships—it also hinders us professionally. Employees can’t learn how to improve their performance if they have little clarity on what the company really wants to prioritize. Successful communications begin with the sender of the message, so it’s essential for executives to package information as effectively as possible to ensure that employees are able to decode it. Read More »

By Kirsten Robinson

Are leaders in your organization constantly on the road? Is your organization geographically dispersed? We all recognize it’s important for employees to feel a connection with their leaders, but many executives struggle to make their presence felt where they can’t be in person.

We recently received a question on our Employee Communications Forum from an executive eager to hear about how other CEC members drive virtual engagement with leadership. Most organizations are using the Internet and other visual media to bridge the gap — here are a few of the takeaways from the thread:

• Get “face time” in real-time. Employees can get virtual face-to-face contact using a video chat program.  One member suggests Live Meeting, which hosts web conferencing in real-time meetings, training sessions and events.
• Communicate through video. Seeing an executive deliver their message (even recorded) can provide employees with a more personal sense of who’s addressing them. One member creates DVDs, noting that they’re often more effective than having employees read an email, or listen in on a conference call. Read More »

Economics writer Tim Harford wrote an interesting opinion piece in the Financial Times last week, urging readers to “Listen to the bearers of bad news.”  Though politicians were the primary examples, the piece’s fundamental message—“any leader needs frank advice, and the biggest obstacle to receiving it is often the leader himself”—applies equally to business. Harford says as much, citing the reality television show Undercover Boss.

Read More »

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In the most dissected PR tactic since Bill Clinton first addressed the Monica Lewinsky affair, Tiger Woods delivered a statement in front of a hand-picked crowd unable to ask any questions.  I’ve argued in the past that the real lesson was from his allowing such a disconnect between the perception and reality of his life, but because Tiger is as close to a functioning business as an athlete could possibly be, I believe it’s instructive for professional communicators to assess his performance nonetheless.

My answer: Disastrous (but it’s not all his fault!). Read More »