This week we’re taking a tried and true principle from political campaigning and applying it to internal communication at your company. . . yay!
Nobody said it better than Lee Atwater: ‘’Perception is reality.” In politics this means that what people think is more powerful than what’s true, so a rumor or bias about a political candidate can do enormous good or enormous damage. (This is where I say absolutely nothing about our current presidential campaign.)
What does this principle have to do with you and your team? Especially during times of change – mergers, shifts in strategy, executive turnover – leaders can be utterly baffled that their own employees don’t see the world, their company or their products the way they see the world, their company or their products.
Objectivity does not exist. So don’t be a prisoner of your own perspective, stubbornly clinging to the hope that everyone will see and understand ‘reality’. Effective communicators acknowledge the power of perceptions, and build their plans on what they know their audiences think and believe.
Communication through crisis or change can be incredibly frustrating because there’s no easy and speedy way to do it. Change communication is an incremental process that occurs over significant time. We have all heard the one about how you can’t bake the cake at 700 degrees for 30 minutes when the recipe says 350 for an hour. Change requires patient, persistent and disciplined communication.
If you really want to reach your employees, you have to know where they stand. And then go stand there with them and show them the way.
Communication is the essential last mile in finding and motivating the right teams, acquiring strong allies, powerfully bonding with customers, and capturing mindshare with compelling stories. Nothing will serve you and your vision better than developing exceptional communication skills.
