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Part 1 .- .2 .- .3 .- . 4 .- .5 |
The
Five Keys to Building |
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A quick review of the last two articles will help to set the stage for this piece. The first thing great companies do is to direct the focus of the organization through a vivid and compelling vision of what they are trying to achieve and then back it with specific plans and goals that show people the steps that must be taken to achieve success. The next determining factor is the amount of action that is applied to the vision and plan. Apply a little bit of action and you will receive a modicum of success, create massive focused action within the organization and you will reap tremendous rewards. The third critical success factor in great companies is…excellent communications.
The ability
to communicate, to create understanding between yourself and all your key
constituents is perhaps the single most important management skill to develop.
If you are in a position of leadership (regardless of your formal title) every
word you speak, every action you take, and every decision you make are sure
to be scrutinized throughout your organization, by your vendors and even your
customers. You cannot simply blurt out what ever you are thinking if you wish
to maintain trust and credibility with those you hope to influence and direct.
There is a fundamental rule of communication that is important to remember:
people without access to good information cannot take responsibility for their
decisions (“I didn’t get the memo, nobody told me, I don’t
know anything about that…”). On the other hand, people with access
to lots of good information cannot help but take responsibility for their
actions. Clear and specific communication is the corner stone of delegation,
empowerment and fast action taking, all key components of building a great
company.
Let me give you a quick example. I recently worked with an executive that
had just been promoted to a VP level in his organization. In the six years
he had been with the company he had never been given access to any financial
records, but in his new position he was going to be held responsible for generating
a certain level of profits, so he was given a copy of the balance sheet. What
he discovered (much to his horror) was that his division had been hemorrhaging
cash for more than three years. His team was coming to work each day thinking
that they were doing just fine, and making decisions about how to expend time,
money and resources accordingly – never knowing they were actually going
further and further into the hole. Luckily he was able to make several smart
changes and turn the situation around in only a few months, which means he
could have done that years ago, had he only known.
Great companies share as much information as they legally can with their employees,
in an open, honest and straightforward way. Through multiple sources (meetings,
newsletters, training, casual conversations, corporate gatherings, and more)
they are constantly focusing the entire organization on the vision, on the
plan and on outstanding service to the customer. They give their people all
the information they need to do a superior job.
Communication is the act by which leaders create motivation and results. With
sensitivity, care and deep concern about what you say and how you say it,
what you do and what you don’t do, you can build your leadership credibility
while energizing your employees to achieve higher and higher levels of success.
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Part 1 .- .2 .- .3 .- . 4 .- .5 |
The
Five Keys to Building |
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© 2008 John Spence - Designed by Flycaster
& Company