Business Communication Instruction

In a series of recent posts, Shel Holz shared a new model for employee communication. If you practice internal communications, you’ve got to read them and then go back and read them again. There are seven parts–a lot to digest–and worth it.

As I read the posts, I found myself asking a fundamental question that I’ve often faced in my career: What is the purpose of internal communications–to market,  inform, or engage? I think the answer is it can be all three. That’s because our work is so contextual. I think back, and note that sometimes I’ve supported an executive or an initiative. I’ve been positioned in HR or Corporate Communications or an operations department. I’ve been dedicated to a variety of functions and social responsibility. In each of those situations, I’ve had to be agile and responsive. Sometimes, I’ve focused on changing behaviors; yet other times, I’ve been all about getting the word out on time in the right template; and still other times, my work has been to foster engagement within a group. And in many of those situations, I’ve experienced a tension between myself and others with communication accountabilities or responsibilities.

In some of those situations, I’ve experienced a tension between myself and others with communication accountabilities or responsibilities.

Tension can be good. It forces you to strive harder, do better, deliver higher-quality.

Yet, when I’m accountable for changing behaviors, say, and you’re focused on processing the email according to standards, well, we can find ourselves out of alignment. And that causes a lot of tension. And worse than that, it hurts communications operations and delivery.

If we have a common, agreed-on purpose, however, then we have something to help us navigate the demands and pressures. We have guardrails to aid in our decision-making and to prioritize our resources. And I’m not saying that if your purpose is to market that you’ll never inform–far from it. But if you have clarity on your guiding purpose, the rest of the work will more easily fall into place.

Getting clarity around your internal communications purpose, then, combined with a great model is our way to success. So, I ask you: Can you say what the purpose of your internal communications function is? It’s worth thinking about.

Change fatigue poses a real risk of scuppering the success of any change initiative. A recent CEB Risk Management Blog post, Keeping an Eye on Employee ‘Change Fatigue’, spelled it out: Change fatigue has emerged as a top risk for 2017.

And prior research has shown that change fatigue is why the majority of transformations fail to deliver on their promises.

So what is this thing we call change fatigue? It’s that employee feeling of apathy and resignation. Maybe you’ve heard it when an employee says, “Whatever” or “Meh”– or seen it when an employee gives an eye roll. The impact is pretty serious, as in lower productivity, poorer customer service, higher expenses. The list goes on.

I like the CEB post because it sees internal communications well positioned to combat change fatigue. It also makes concrete suggestions to foster employee engagement and empowerment.

But the one thing that the post forgets to mention is listening.

Listening is so basic–I guess it’s easy to overlook. Yet, during a period of change, all the lovely live events, sparkly social media outlets, hip hashtags and badass branding are nothing compared to leaders listening to employees.

I’ve written about the listening topic before. And it’s worthwhile revisiting it again because it’s such a powerful practice. We all get dazzled by YamJams and unconferences and business strategy-themed scavenger hunts! Activities like these are fun and have their place. But they’re check-the-box exercises if don’t include real moments of connection between leaders and employees. Without listening, you’ll be back to “whatevers” and eye rolls.

As the internal communications pro, look for ways to work listening into your company’s change initiative. Ensure that you have real moments of give-and-take between your leaders and employees. You’ll be managing a critical risk and making an invaluable contribution to your company’s change program success.

I love it. We’re on the brink of summer.

For most of us, getting here has involved a big push of content–meetings, events, announcements, web pages–all before we end the second quarter. Yet, it was well worth it. Because this is just the time of year when business communications pros can ease back the throttle and enjoy the calm that comes after hectic activity.

Whoa there! Not too calm, I hope. Remember, summer is a great time to continue networking.

Networking is so important, no matter where you are in your career. I mean it! Intern? You want to network to better understand the working world, test new ideas of yourself and your career, and establish a foundation of professional connections. Mid-career? You want to navigate to your next great adventure, and grow your strengths and capabilities. Thinking about retirement? You want to link up with enriching connections who will support you as you reinvent yourself in a new context.

But the thing is…it’s summer! And with summer distractions–the kids, the dog, the beach, the softball game–and hours, it’s challenging to schedule a lunch, after-work drink, or attend an event. It’s takes planning and effort.

You got that right. It does take planning and effort. So, roll up your sleeves and schedule your next networking activity. It doesn’t have to be hard. Got a project you’re working on? Grab coffee with one of your teammates. Visiting the cafeteria? Join the table of someone you don’t know very well and learn about the work that they do.

Networking for your continuing professional growth has got to be systematic, if it’s going to be effective. This means you need to keep it up even during the summer.

Recently, I’ve been busy working on different writing and editing efforts. For example, I’ve prepared a video script here, an electronic postcard there, and I’m looking ahead to a brochure–you get the idea.

As a writer, I find it an interesting challenge to address each of these outlets and prepare content that is relevant to the format. In other words, how I approach a two-minute video script is very different from how I approach a four-panel printed brochure.

At this point, you might say, duh.

But I had this blinding flash about my work, and while you’re thinking I should probably get out more, I wanted to share it with you. My work in any of these channels is only as good as the communication foundational elements that underpin them. If I get the foundational elements right, then I can produce better work in any outlet.

This was brought home to me when I reviewed one of my recent efforts.

I’ll paint you the picture.

Speed was of the essence. We had to distribute an email announcement to a group of employees by a certain date. We had a sense of what our themes should be because we were working on our communication strategy and message house. But we hadn’t distilled our thinking into tight, crisp messages yet.

So what happened? We got the email out on time, but the content was, well, messy. The messages meandered. There was copy flab that distracted from what we were trying to say.  Yes, we accomplished what we needed to yet I felt I could have done a better writing job.

But that’s not the ending. You see, we continued to work on the strategy and message house. And my next writing effort–a multi-page document–reflected the refined messages. The result was on target, I’m happy to say. Much clearer and more invigorating copy. And it gets better because as I look ahead I could work on posters, web pages, or speeches.  And whatever channel the work leads me to, I’m well equipped with my communication foundational elements to do my best efforts.

Tweet this! Get your foundation right, #InternalComms pros!

My advice? Get your foundation right. Prepare your strategy and key messages, and you’ll find yourself rendering higher-quality work in every channel and outlet.

I always get excited when people say, “The future is here, now.”

My mind overflows with images of throwing off old shabby coats and well-worn hats and scarves, to reveal bright colors and airy fabrics that reflect the glorious sunshine, which, by the way, is what I’m looking at outside my window as I write this post.

Okay. So maybe “The future is here, now” is a pretty common phrase. I’ve heard it many times. Maybe you have, too? Yet it never fails to work its magic on me.

But, if I’m so excited about hearing the phrase, can you imagine how excited I feel when I’m actually witnessing the future?

That is, can you guess how I feel when I work with young people who are coming up in the advertising/public relations/marketing and communications fields? I am exhilarated! I get to see their new ways of doing things and their fresh approaches. And I feel the radiated glow of their energy and commitment.

Last month I had the great good fortune to be a part of a student development event at a local college, and since then I’ve been doing some one-on-one mentoring with another young person who is embarking on a communications-as-a-profession journey.

I’m so grateful for these opportunities. And while I hope that I’ve contributed something to the young people in these cases, I have to admit, selfishly, that I’ve gotten so much more out of them for myself. Novel ideas. Radical perspectives. Re-commitment to values. Renewed energy. Oh, and a lot of laughs.

So, here’s my call to action to you, communications professional: Reach out to your local college, high school, library, community center, or the professional association to which you belong, and find a way to contribute to the up-and-coming generation by sharing your expertise and know how. Maybe you can provide writing help. Maybe you can share your hard-won career wisdom. Maybe you have technical wizardry to dole out. Whatever your communications experience or specialty, there are young people who are the communicators-of-the-future who will benefit from your acumen and skills.

You’ll be so glad you did because the future will be here, now, before you know it.

During the past couple of months, I’ve met or refreshed contact with several interesting communication professionals. What makes them so very interesting (and admirable) is that they all offered different attributes and skills in the field of organizational communications. What’s even more impressive is that they presented themselves in a way that was crystal clear. I mean it was really easy to “get” what each one offered that was special. In other words, each one had brand.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot because we hear about personal or professional branding in the context of job search and networking. And while those are the times during a career when personal/professional branding is essential, job search and networking were not the settings where I met these talented people.

So, I had to reflect on what makes them so successful at conveying their unique offerings, and I realized they are living their brands every day.

How do they do that? How do they enable the people they come into contact with to easily grasp who they are and what they have to offer?

I think it begins with self-awareness. I think that either naturally or intentionally, these people have stepped outside themselves. Perhaps they’ve worked with coaches or in workshops or conducted self-examinations. They’ve inventoried their experiences and skills and cultivated a deep understanding of their abilities and interests. They’ve assessed what motivates and inspires them, and what doesn’t. And they’ve considered those things they’re not so good at. Finally, and this might be most important and most fearless, they’ve accepted their whole selves. That doesn’t mean they’re not developing areas where they want to be stronger, but it does mean they understand themselves and they’re not trying to be someone else. They’re being authentic.

Wow. That’s powerful.

There’s nothing new about self-awareness and self-acceptance, of course. (How many books and articles have you read?) Yet it’s often forgotten when the pressure is on. In those moments where we’re squeezed from the outside to do this or deliver that, go here or go there, we may find ourselves blowing up smoke and fog, which causes others to struggle to see us, which leads to relationships of confusion. In those moments, if we could sharply focus on our one-of-a-kind offerings, others would see us with clarity, which would lead to relationships of trust and confidence.

The process to gain that professional clarity requires hard work, tenacity, and courage. And it needs to be regularly refreshed. Yet defining and honing your personal/professional brand is so worth it!

All this to say, I’m going to commit myself to work on my communicator brand. What are you going to do about your communicator brand?