Why does a good decision or action end up not going well? Was it the decision itself or how the action was taken…or was it a communication issue? My experience is that leaders put a lot of time into making thoughtful decisions. The “miss” occurs due to how things are communicated during the rollout.
Micromanagement can get a bad rap. Yes, there are certain actions in which it makes sense: making sure a recipe is correct, making sure medications are taken as prescribed, and, in my view, making sure communication happens consistently.
How often does a team spend hours deciding on and laying out a plan for implementation but then must backtrack and spend extra time due to the communication process? Here is an example: After receiving a lot of input, a CEO makes the decision to stop a service. There is a communication plan that reads well, yet things do not go well. There is a lot of inconsistency and confusion, with rumors swirling around.
Here are two items that can cause communication to be missed and how to fix them.
- Coordinated timing. After a meeting, the eight leaders in attendance cascade what they feel needs to be cascaded. The bullet points are understood and communicated accurately. Everyone has good intentions. Yet things soon become confusing. There are a lot of rumors (which may be accurate facts).
So, what is the issue? It is timing. For example, when each person leaves the meeting, they share the information at different times. Let’s say the decision to roll out the communication is made at a meeting on Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. One leader meets with their direct reports every Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. Another meets each Monday at 3:00 p.m. Another meets every other Thursday at 10:00 a.m. Still another leader meets one-on-one with their direct reports at various times.
What happens is that the people who hear the information first share what they have heard. The grapevine takes over. It is not that the messaging is not correct; it is the inconsistent timing. Some people may think, Why am I the last to know? For important communication, it is best that everyone agrees to share it at one time.
- Clear messaging. Leaders do their best to explain items. In this example, communication is verbal. Managers at the meeting are encouraged to cascade the information to their work area. Quickly there is inconsistency in what is communicated. Why? The attendees leave with what they believe are the key points to share. However, different people may hear different things.
I learned this lesson after a department meeting where the cascaded communication varied in content. At the next meeting, I asked the attendees to send me the top takeaways they planned to share. When I received their responses, they were not bad; however, they varied. I suggest if something is important, people leave with the key points to cascade. They can add other items; however, the key points need to be consistent.
These two actions will greatly improve your communication. Imagine how much more engaged and less anxious people will be when everyone is hearing the same message at the same time!
