Transformation is about leadership, leadership is about relational influence, influence is about exceptional communications

     Leaders MUST realize that the key to exceptional communication is simplicity.  Forget about impressing people with big words or complex sentences.  If you want to connect with people, keep it simple.  Effective communicators focus on the people with whom they’re communicating. They know it is impossible to effectively communicate with an audience without knowing something about them (it's relational).   Share as much as you can about what will and will not change and how it affects the

Good communication won’t guarantee results,

but poor communication will guarantee failure

team. Use the case for change as a template to create a message any time explaining a change. Make time to gather the information needed so that you can explain all five of the above elements.

     Effective communications foster an environment in which the entire organizational team gains clarity around how the business is doing overall, members gain insights as to how the various products and services meet customer demand and awareness as to the competitive market facing the organization.  Information such as operations performance results must be tracked and talked about at all levels of the organization on the shortest interval applicable so the decisions can be made timely. Exceptional communications must break traditional models that hoard information, feeds the status quo while protecting the command and control structure so that only the upper levels of management know what is happening in the business.   Leaders in effective organizations break through the functional aspects and collectively develop a system-wide view of the transformation.  This provides full alignment and integration across and up/down the organization for a cohesive leadership approach.

     Communication must be constantly occurring within the organization based on both formal and informal formats using verbal and written methods.  Formal methods might include mass meetings, small groups, newsletters, postings, etc. where aspects for the urgency of change will be outlined.  Informal communication such as walking through areas talking to individuals one on one about the changes and expectations can be one of the most effective methods.  These informal methods are very successful typically more than formal methods since individuals are more at ease which creates the environment that permits listening and understanding.

People believe in great communicators because

great communicators believe in people

     As a leader every time you speak to individuals, give them something to feel, something to remember, and something to do.  Express the purpose and vision in such a way that people are able to understand, internalize, and act upon.  Speak with conviction while living what you say; the goal of all communication is action.  Make communications personal so that the dialogue eliminates ambiguity, overcomes confusion, and changes an individual’s attitudes.  Repeat the message, because members tend to forget or don’t hear you in the first place.  In case of a communication vacuum, members will make up information, usually rumors, bad news, and worst-case thinking while looking for signs of organizational cowardice; leaders not doing what they say or not being accountability is a sure way to failure so don’t let the message get shaped by the wrong perception.  Transformation is about leadership, leadership is about relational influence, influence is about exceptional communications.