Leadership Principle #11 – Trust and Communication
In any human interaction, the required amount of communication is inversely proportional to the level of trust. Think about that for a minute. The more trust you have, the less communication you need, and conversely, the less trust you have in the person receiving your message, the more communication you need. However, more communication is not necessarily the best solution, especially in a business setting that involves many people. All the leadership principles I teach are really about efficiency in your business practices, and you need trust in order to make communication efficient and effective.
As your company grows, communication can become its biggest challenge. George Bernard Shaw poignantly said, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” We all played the telephone game as children, and experienced first-hand how distorted a message can become as the number of people involved increases. The same occurs in business with top-down communication.
So how do you know if your messages are being received as intended and acted on appropriately? Just because you sent out an email or other form of communication doesn’t mean your message was correctly received. Communication is a two-way street - it needs to be sent and received, but when you’re dealing with potentially hundreds or thousands of individuals on the receiving end, you need to trust that it was received correctly. Many times, the mistake leaders make is to err on the side of over-communication to compensate for a lack of trust. However, this is not a real solution because it’s impossible to communicate enough to make up for a lack of trust. In fact, over-communication is a sign something is wrong! More is not better in this case, so as CEO, the goal becomes to build trust in order to actually decrease the amount of communication you need.
When you are assessing your corporate communication style, there are a few roadblocks to watch out for.
1. Inconsistency in communications
Are your messages clear and free of inconsistencies? If not, in lieu of clear directives, individuals will begin to derive their own meanings from your messages and potentially spread incorrect information.
2. Relying on technology alone to disseminate information
It’s tempting in a fast-paced business environment to rely solely on technology to get your messages out, but there is no substitute for face-to-face communication when it comes to ensuring your messages are correctly received. This is communication in its best, most ideal and effective state.
3. Lack of feedback mechanisms
Again, communication is a two-way street. If you are not listening to your employees or seeking their feedback, they will feel ignored and begin to tune you out. A good feedback device will also ensure consistency and help you learn if your message is in fact being received as it was intended.
Finally, I coach CEOs to understand the importance of making trust and communication a duty of the whole executive team. All leadership needs to encourage conversations and facilitate an exchange of ideas. The more your team is in synch, the more you can trust they will accurately convey these messages across the organization. Trust and good communication with your team is part of your culture, and this pays dividends when expanded across the company. This is a team sport. Just like how a strong athletic team relies on excellent communication and trust amongst players, you also need everyone on board to succeed.
If you’d like to speak with me about how these leadership principles can benefit you and your organization, contact me today for a conversation.