Motivating People - Communication

In my first note on Motivating People, I wrote on what it is to be a human being first and then a colleague/ manager/leader.  Today, I will focus on communication.  I believe that communication is not a means but a strategic weapon.  Personally, I have used this effectively to reach out to people at all levels within the organization.  Communication should be honest, open, transparent, consistent, timely and brief.  It should be followed through with actions that are committed as these follow through actions are the only way to build trust within large teams.  In my current organization I have a team of 4800 people and this is across 6 levels.  If you really need to reach across the various levels and to so many people and be able to convey the same context, you need to do so through different channels.  I reached out using the following channels:

a) Emails addressed to all staff;

b) All staff townhalls - here I would speak to a group of 200 and above and answer questions as well;

c) A mail box that any one could write to with their thoughts/concerns/appreciation/suggestions and only I had access to that mail box.  I would reply within 24 hours.  I would follow through with actions and go back to the person who wrote to me once the actions were completed.  Everyone knew through my actions that these mails were kept confidential;

d) Intranet;

e) Skip level meetings - I would spend 2 hours every day meeting people at different levels to hear first hand from them on their issues, suggestions and thoughts;

f) Forwarding data and information to all my direct reports;

g) One to one meetings with all my direct reports;

h) Weekly, Fortnightly and Monthly meetings with my direct reports, stakeholders, managers, etc.

In my opinion, there is nothing called over communication.  We need to communicate up the chain, down the chain and laterally.  Further, our communication channels need to be carefully thought through.   We also need to time out communications well so that we do not confuse staff.

Personally, what worked best for me were the email box (I had branded this as well) and the skip level meetings. These really got me closer to my staff at all levels.  They knew I was approachable and that they could come to me with any problem.  They also knew that they would get a response in 24 hours and a quick solution. 

At my immediate direct report level, the one to one meetings worked best for me. What also my direct reports liked were the information mails I sent on the economy, on what is happening around the company, on business and management related topics, etc.

If you want people to be motivated and to see you as a leader, then be visible and also communicate effectively.  Your staff cannot figure out what is going through your mind unless you state it.  You cannot make out what is going through their heads unless you make an effort to find out and provide enough channels to them to reach out to you.  Keep it plain, simple and honest.  This has always worked for me.

I will sign off with the oft repeated adage - "If you want to be an effective leader, then, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate"