Although technology has had a remarkable effect on our ability to increase efficiency, technology by itself, does nothing to increase effectiveness any more than a speedometer makes a car go faster. Measuring the efficiency of a business is very different than measuring its effectiveness.
This isn”™t the information age, it”™s the communications age. Our major task is not gathering information because technology is doing that for us. The job of business leaders is to simplify and make sure that all information is truthful, useful and meaningful to customers, co-workers, suppliers and everyone we deal with.
In “Winning With People,” author John C. Maxwell says, “All of life”™s successes come from initiating relationships with the right people and then strengthening those relationships by using good people skills.“ You cannot use email, social media and voice-mail effectively until you ”˜earn”™ the right to do so. Earn that right by first communicating with your physical presence and this can work in any organization, regardless of its size.
According to Patrick Lencioni author of “The Advantage,” once your authentic message has been established, “The most reliable and effective way to get an organization moving in the same direction is for members of the leadership team to promptly communicate that message to their direct reports, and have those direct reports do the same for their own direct reports.”
Lencioni, who often appears in The Wall Street Journal, The Harvard Business Review, Fortune and USA Today, has named this process “cascading communication” because it begins at the top and although structured, is an interpersonal way of passing truth from person to person, down through the organization. Customers continue this process by telling their friends.
“It must be communicated over and over and over and over and over and over and over again,” Lencioni says. “That”™s right. Seven times. It”™s been said that employees won”™t believe what leaders are communicating until they”™ve heard it said at least seven times. Whether the real number is seven or 77, point is that people are skeptical about what they”™re being told unless they hear it consistently over time.”
When asked if they can communicate using email or voice-mail, Lencioni responds, “The answer is no. Although these tools are certainly more efficient than having to communicate live, they”™re drastically less effective. The best way to do cascading communication is face to face and live.”
The three separate elements of effective leadership communication are made up of speaking, listening and engagement. Speaking and listening are skills that can be learned. Engagement, however, only comes from an authentic interest and respect for other people and their points of view. Do customers come first in your organization and are the opinions of your employees and other stakeholders respected?
Communicate personally and always remember to put the other person first; your customer, your employee, your vendor and demonstrate a genuine caring and respect for them. Earn the trust and the right to utilize technology to help with communication by first developing a relationship and by being sure that all information is truthful, useful and meaningful to everyone you deal with.
Effectiveness trumps efficiency every time. Take the time required to develop a personal relationship with your direct reports and insist that they do the same with theirs. The effectiveness of people who are in the business determines the effectiveness of your business. This isn”™t the information age, it”™s always been and will be the communications age.
Joe Murtagh, The DreamSpeaker, is an international motivational speaker, meeting facilitator and business trainer. For questions or comments email Joe@TheDreamSpeaker.com, visit TheDreamSpeaker.com or call 1-800-239-0058.
