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By David Grossman, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA
May 6th, 2008
Deciding what messages leaders need to share
A client recently asked me how to know what information was mission-critical for her staff. "Many of my employees want to know everything that's going on," she bemoaned. "That's impossible to accomplish."
She's right – it's not only incredibly difficult, but also an unrealistic expectation on the part of her employees.
"What should they expect of me?" she asked.
There's a distinction we've found that's most useful to help your leaders set (or re-set) expectations. Follow these two guidelines for when to share (or not share) information:
1. A leader's top priority is to share information that employees need to do their jobs well (work- or job-focused information designed to help employees perform well).
2. A secondary priority is sharing information so employees can advocate on behalf of the organization as brand ambassadors (typically information that builds pride and morale, or is important to help get the organization's story out).
Sharing these expectations with staff is critical, so that they know what to expect from you.
One other key expectation to share with them: if they don't know something or have questions, they need to seek out the information and/or ask. Communication is not a spectator sport – it requires active participation. Do your leader's teams understand what you expect from them, and what they can expect from you?
If not, there's no better time than now to open up the dialogue.
David Grossman
David Grossman, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA
President and principal thoughtpartner™, dg&a
CEOs: "nothing more than hired help"
The Internal Comms Hub, May 5,
2008
In his new book From Higher Aims to Hired Hands, Rakesh Khurana discusses CEOs and the changing role of MBAs (Master of Business Administration).
More people want "meaningful work"
The Internal Comms Hub, May 5, 2008
Not-for-profit research consultancy, The Work Foundation’s new paper explores the notion of "meaningful work" – a relatively new, and growing, phenomenon that would have made little sense to people 200 years ago.
Email activism, laziness, informal networks, and a whole load more
Alex Manchester, The Melcrum Blog, May 5, 2008
Luis Suarez has been on an email detox for almost three months now, and by challenging each and every person who sends him one, he has managed to reduce the number of internal emails he receives by over a third...
Getting people to come to work
Melcrum’s Communications
Network, May 5, 2008
How can companies prevent employees from using their sick leave when they're not really sick, and how can this issue be diplomatically and sensitively addressed? Join the debate on the Communicators' Network.
Australasian media gets hot on engagement
The Internal Comms Hub, May 5, 2008
Two prominent Australasian media outlets have this week published lengthy articles on the importance of employee engagement.
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