Leaders know that communication is one of their key roles. In fact whenever I have worked with a leadership team or group the subject of communication always comes up. People want to know how to communicate more effectively, and why people don’t always seem to hear when they do communicate.
In those very same organizations people wish the leaders would communicate more often and/or more clearly. They often feel “in the dark” about decisions, plans and future direction.
In defense of the leaders, most often they do communicate, but often not very effectively. In fact, by definition, if the followers are not clear about what they have read or heard, then the communication hasn’t been effective.
One of the areas where the gap is widest is in communicating decisions. Decisions are made (or followers think or assume they have been made), but the communication of those decisions is ineffective or incomplete.
The List
In working with a Management Team recently we examined this challenge and found a document that outlined some things to consider when communicating decisions. What follows are seven questions (with some commentary) to help you successfully communicate decisions within your organization (and beyond).
What are the key points or major messages you want to share when communicating the decision? Outline these points ahead of time. If each member of a leadership team is communicating individually, creating a common list of key messages is even more important. What do you really need to communicate about this decision?
