How Do I Approach Communications With My Team?
Communicating is the number one thing a leader can do to help engage an employee. It’s also the thing that often gets the least attention and planning. Especially when written. Many leaders focus on what they want to say and forget to think about what employees want to hear or how they will listen.
Our brains love to anticipate and fill in gaps of understanding. If you don’t communicate or aren’t transparent, people will fill in the gaps for what they think is happening and usually assume the worst. The best way to minimize this is to have a regular communication rhythm both with individuals and the team. Help people know when they can expect to hear from you and be transparent on what you know and don’t know. With consistency, employees will begin to trust what you share.
Employees want to hear from the manager closest to them most frequently. The most frequent communications need to come from the direct manager. Employees want to think through what messages and updates mean for them and their work. A leader a few layers removed can’t provide that. Even when receiving communications from leaders a few layers removed, the manager can provide additional perspective and clarity for what it means for each employee.
Don’t hide behind “I’m a leader and I can’t tell people everything.” You can still be transparent and not reveal things you need to keep confidential as a leader. Provide clarity in “Here is what we know” and “Here what is unknown” or “Here is what we are watching for.” If you avoid communicating, people’s brains will fill in gaps of information with a story likely worse than reality.
Have a regular communications rhythm that includes listening. Every leader should have a regular rhythm for when they connect with their team, share emails and have one-on-ones. Some leaders prefer ad hoc communications, but having a regular pattern helps increase transparency and helps you stay connected to them. It also gives employees dedicating time to get questions answered without having to chase you down. The communications rhythm should plan for:
When do you connect by a call/web meeting?
When do you send communication emails? What is the criteria or focus?
Are there leadership messages you should forward to your team?
When you have time to regularly listen and ask questions?
When do you connect with employees individually?
Plan your message. Whether sending an email, having a call or having a one-on-one, spend a few minutes planning the key messages. Don’t just start with a list of everything you want to share. Reflect on the varying perspectives to help you build a list of points that not only addresses what you want, it empathically helps address questions they have:
What are the key points I need to share?
What are the questions the employee(s) will have?
What have the employees been experiencing? What empathy do I need for their situation?
What do I want them to take away/do different?
What you want to say and what people need to hear aren’t always the same thing. As you plan your message, think through how they employee will listen. We hear things from a me-first perspective. For each message, people listen to all of your messages through this following order:
What does this mean for me?
Do I have a job?
What is expected of me/how are my priorities impacted?
Do you care about me as an employee and human?
Do you value me as an employee?
What about my team? My colleagues? Our place in the organization?
How are we doing?
What is expected of us?
What impacts can we expect?
What is our strategy/What is the overall impact?
What are we working towards?
Do I connect to the broader vision and strategy?
Are there shifts to that?
Help me see a future?
How can I help? What can I do to contribute to the situation?
Speak human…no jargon. Treat people like humans and adults. Don’t use jargon or speak/write like a textbook. Be real in your communications. Keep communications simplified and true to your voice.
Do not thank people for everything they do. This is a personal pet peeve, but please do not default to the “Thanks for everything you do” as a signature or generic statement. It’s general, impersonal and unoriginal. It doesn’t sound very thankful. When you want to thank people, be specific. It will mean more and stay with the employees.
Thank you for your enthusiasm.
Thank you for your dedication.
These weeks have been hard. Thank you for showing up each day and contributing.
I love the energy you bring. Thank you.
Thank you for sticking with it, even when it is hard.
Thank you for consistently delivering great work.
Don’t assume people will come to you with questions. Regularly check-in with the questions people have. Check to see your communications are landed as intended. Check to see where there is confusion and what you need to clarify. We tend to communicate what we want to tell; not necessarily what people need to hear. The best way to make sure you are being effective is to check for understanding and clarity.
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