Page 63 - Council Journal Winter 2019

FEATURE Communicate More Effectively How HR Can Help Leaders
Communicate More Effectively
Corporate communication, and business communication in general, is inherently damaged, leading to a lack of clear leadership. Let’s look at some communication strategies and transformations that can help deliver for your organisation.
The impact of this imbalance is huge. Corporate communication regularly tops the complaint list in staff
As neurologist Donald Calne said: “The essential difference between emotion and reason is that reason leads to conclusions, while emotion leads to action.”
Executives have relied on the language of technical expertise through consistent promotions, and believe what has served them well in the past will continue to. However, as their roles and responsibilities change the higher they progress, they need a new communication paradigm. They need to move from ‘push’ to ‘pull’
engagement survey results and research shows between 80 and 95% of staff don’t understand leadership strategies. One survey put the cost of poor communications at at over €45 billion in the US and UK alone.
The language of leadership is understanding how to use both ends of the communication spectrum appropriately – ambidextrous communication. Leaders who can do this can communicate with impact and at the same time, build their authenticity and credibility. However, in many organisations, the overwhelming communication style used is the ‘assertion style’ – the language of technical expertise.
– from statement to story.
The story approach can be applied
So how can HR professionals help to redress this imbalance? The first step is to realise that when they communicate there is a choice of what language to use. At one end of the communication spectrum is the 'assertion' or 'statement' style of communication. This style can be thought of as the language of technical expertise, commonly employed by technical experts, managers and bureaucrats. It can be very impressive but is generally not very engaging. Even if the information is 100% correct, when managers use this style they often create a form of resistance. That's because, from the listener's perspective, it feels like you are talking at them – pushing messages at them.
HR professionals can make an enormous contribution to their organisations by helping leaders at all levels incorporate a little more of the ‘language of leadership’ into their communication repertoire. HR can also help leaders understand that talking impressively does not make them engaging, understandable or credible. Most executives self-assess as being effective communicators when in reality they are far from it.
in many business contexts. Stories are specific and concrete so staff are much more likely to understand our decisions. Using story builds leader credibility and authenticity and is much more engaging and inspiring for staff, which can increase engagement and retention. Turning strategies into strategic stories increases alignment and business performance.
At the other end of the spectrum is the 'moment' or 'story' style. Stories can be thought of as facts, wrapped in context and delivered with emotion. By wrapping facts and data within a narrative structure, communicators can be much more engaging, influential, memorable and inspiring.
At a recent workshop, three senior executives were asked to take five minutes to outline their company strategy. Each of them self-assessed as being clear, engaging and impactful, but the assessment from their peers was not so favourable – ‘rambling and incoherent’ was the audience feedback.
Perhaps the most important way HR professionals can address the communication imbalance is to recognise that story is a skill that all leaders can develop. Helping leaders build their capability to use story purposefully and effectively will help address the current communications imbalance and deliver better performance across organisations.
Mark Schenk is co-founder of management consultancy Anecdote. A version of this article originally appeared at www.peoplemanagement. co.uk.
Council Journal 63