1. Good communication starts at the top: The world’s most respected leaders – whatever their level – give their teams the information they need to do their job well, are active listeners, encourage and applaud involvement and, in so doing, create committed, passionate teams. This habit passes on down through the organization.
2. Make sure managers have the information they believe is relevant to pass on: Managers feel embarrassed and inadequate if they are asked questions by their team that they don’t know the answer too – and crucially don’t know where to look for the answer. Ensure managers have relevant and interesting information and have clear guidelines on where to find corporate information.
3. Ensure managers have special access to information: Nothing is as frustrating to a manager as receiving information at the same time as their team member who joined the company last week. This reduces their motivation and takes away their empowerment to act as communicators.
4. Relieve managers from information overload: As often as managers complain about not having enough information to communicate to their teams, they complain about having too much information so that they are unable to tell what is relevant and important. Stop unnecessary corporate emails and make sure that they important messages are prioritized.
5. Listen to and understand managers: We all know that communication is supposed to be 2 way, but how often is it really? How can we expect managers to communicate with their teams if they feel that their views and those of their teams are ignored by the senior management? Ensure questions are answered and feedback acknowledged.
6. If managers aren’t passing on your corporate information- stop and ask why! How often do senior managers complain that the company managers are not keeping their teams informed and spend hours discussing how to solve the problem, without investing in the most obvious step – stopping to listen to the managers and find out what the issues are?
7. Make sure that managers understand the benefits of communication with their teams:These include team benefits such as improved teamwork and increased levels of enthusiasm;Company benefits such as an increased ability to represent a united company view to customers; and most importantly the personal benefits to the manager e.g., increased credibility and respect with customers and colleagues and increased job satisfaction.
8. As well as information and motivation managers need the right skills to be good communicators: Review the managers skills in communication – it’s more powerful when built into a regular appraisal and also supported with the necessary training.
9. Help managers organize and prioritize information: Managers need guidelines as to which messages need prioritization – not everything is important. Remember the boy who cried wolf!
10. Praise and reward the good communicators: It’s easy to moan about poor communication among managers, but how often are your good communicators rewarded? If good communication is showcased and praised this acts as the standard for others to follow.