If you were to ask your employees, would they know the plan? And…
If you asked multiple people, would the message have been received consistently?
A recent Gallop study found that only 22% of employees strongly agree the leaders in their organization have a clear direction for their organization. So, what about the other 78%?
More than ever, employees need stability in their messaging from leadership. To create this level of stability, leadership needs to share their plans for the future and how those plans will affect their employees.
Here is an inexpensive and easy way to find out if your leadership is communicating a stable message:
Ask your employees 2 questions:
- What is the purpose of this company?
- What are the company/department goals for this year?
Now, compare the answers. Are they consistent? Are the same words being used throughout your company to describe your direction? Remember, your employees are already aware of your business and they breathe its culture every day.
What leaders communicate is important as well as how often they communicate. People are always watching. A leaders actions and words are analyzed closely by their team members.
Here are two important topics that should be addressed regularly with your employees:
1. Role expectations: Employees should know exactly what is expected of them and how they can be successful.
2. Mission and Purpose: Employees will be more engaged in their work if they know the ‘why.’ Help your team to know why their job is so important.
Gallup has leveraged past research to develop a short set of questions leaders can use to “listen” more effectively. The questions help leaders gauge employee reactions and optimize their strategic decisions for their organizations. Here are a few of them:
- Does my leadership have a clear plan of action?
- Do I feel well-prepared to do my job?
- Does my supervisor keep me informed about what is going on?
I’ll leave you with this…When I was serving in the Marine Corps, I was taught a very valuable lesson about communicating strategy to all levels of an organization. The lesson has come to be known as “Napoleon’s Corporal.” Napoleon recognized how vital it was to have an enlisted soldier in the planning process. While creating their battle plans and war strategies, Napoleon made sure there was a Corporal in the room. Once complete, he would ask the Corporal if he completely understood the plan. If he said, Yes Sir! The General would carry out the plan knowing it could be cascaded down to the troops on the ground and they would understand it well enough to execute it. If he did not understand, then the group would continue working on the plan until the Corporal understood it.
Having a great plan and message is one thing, but the real value is being able to communicate it throughout your organization consistently and have it be understood and applied accordingly by everyone.
