Internal communication. More than just talking to yourself.

Welcome back! This week we have a topic that may be touchy to some. This week we are talking about internal and external leadership communication. The way a leader communicates with an external audience is very important, but something that affects us all almost daily is how people in leadership roles in our workplace communicate with us. This week, I will share some insights as to what works and doesn't work when it comes to your internal communication as a leader.

First, it is important to note that internal communication falls into two categories, organizational communication and employee communication. Organizational communication refers to memos, notices, and big picture information. Employee communication is how we talk to and interact with each other in the workplace. In my opinion, how leaders communicate with their employees is where you see the most organizational change. Yes, it is important to have a strategic system when it comes to informing an organization about policy changes or promotions, but we interact with each other and our supervisors daily. Poor communication from your manager or supervisor can lead to more employee turnover than missing an office memo.

Sir Winston Churchill once said, "The difference between mere management and true leadership is communication." I have found in my professional career that even when I was not in a leadership position, people still turned to me to make decisions or to be in a leadership role in group projects. I attribute that to my communication style. I have always been very transparent and up-front with people. I do not participate in the water cooler gossip, but I am always accessible and willing to help where needed. I am extremely extroverted and friendly and have never met a stranger. To the point that my college roommates hated going to the grocery store with me. If someone asks me a question, I am going to answer them and give them as much detail as I can in that answer. This rolls into my professional life as well.

A year ago, I started a job at an agency that I was not familiar with. I spent the first three months on the job going to the different departments and introducing myself. I guess you could say I was networking with fellow coworkers. As I discussed last week, living according to my personal brand has become very important to me. I wanted these fellow coworkers to know that I was friendly and approachable. What better way to do this than to go around and shake hands with people. Fast forward to now, some of these very same people come to me for answers over my departmental counterparts. Why? Because in an organization with 4,400 employees, I took the time to introduce myself to them and to show interest in what they do daily.

Successful leaders mirror this concept. They do not see their employees as just a number, they have an open door policy, and they truly foster two-way communication. The biggest mistake a leader can make when it comes to internal communication is to make their employees feel like their thoughts and opinions aren't valued. I have worked for many different organizations in my lifetime, and my best experiences were at the ones where I felt valued, appreciated and heard. Washington State University's Carson College of Business lists some dos and don'ts for effective manager/employee communication. 

The Do's                                                                               The Don'ts

1) Meet Weekly                                                                    1) Focusing on Weaknesses

2) Hold Regular 1-on-1s                                                      2) Disregarding Professional Development

3) Keep Employees in the Loop                                          3) Being Unapproachable

4) Be Open with Your Team                                                4) Being Uninvolved

5) Use Communication Tools                                              5) Being Too Involved

6) Ask for and Give Feedback                                             6) Exhibiting Pessimism

                                                                                             7) Using Passive-Aggressive Communication

Let's touch on a few of these. Under the Do's column, meet weekly. In my job, we have a weekly staff meeting to go over upcoming projects and posts we will be scheduling for the week. This is a chance for everyone to get together, share what they may need help with, and honestly to share what their workload looks like for the week. This is beneficial because it allows each of us to know who has a full slate versus who we could potentially ask for assistance if something comes up. This meeting also touches on keeping employees in the loop as well as the use of communication tools since we regularly meet on Teams video chat. We are also all very open and honest with each other on these calls and will let each other know when we do not have time to help or if something is too much for us to handle on our own. This weekly call is an excellent example of internal communication done right. Our manager moderates the discussion, but also plays an active role as well. Often she brings up new ideas or offers solutions we may not have thought of before.

Now let's talk about the Don'ts column. One of the absolute worst things you can do as a leader is focus on your employees weaknesses. As a leader it is your job to instill a sense of trust and value in your employees. If you are constantly focusing on what they aren't the best at, then you will make them believe they are not worth anything to you. Like their attributes go unnoticed. Along these same lines, if you are constantly being too involved in what they are doing and micromanaging their tasks, then you will lead them to believe that you don't trust them to do the task they were assigned. They will think that the quality of their work is being questioned. This will lead to a high turn around in employees.

Overall, internal communication is one of the best ways to foster a sense of belonging, have employee retention, and to promote job satisfaction. As leaders, you must pour into your employees and have a servant leadership approach. Listening to your employees, implementing their ideas, and never making them question their value to a company is so important and truly separate the leaders from the managers in the workplace.