1.5 - About University

8.3 T HE L EADER’ S R OLE INO RGANIZATIONAL C OMMUNICATIONContributed by Ursula Wohlfarth and inspired by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)references. Also inspired by Stephen Covey and Hendrie Weisinger.Communication is the tie that binds an organization together. This tool will help you, as aleader, to communicate openly with employees, and in doing so to contribute to the developmentof your organization as a whole. Effective communication practices make a difference inemployees’ attitudes toward the organization. The benefits of a well-informed staff include:✔✔✔increased commitment from employees, because they understand the organization’sgoals, and their own role in achieving those goals;greater cooperation across organizational business units and workgroups;elimination of rumors and incorrect assumptions that create misunderstanding orundermine employee morale;✔ employees feeling recognized and motivated to take the initiative, such as offering newideas.Communication is a defining element of an organization’s culture. Some organizations aredescribed as open and forthright in their communication, while others are closed and highlycontrolled in their approach. Invariably, the organization’s leaders set the tone for communications.If the CEO is sincere and up front in communicating with employees, then open communicationbecomes “the way we do business around here.”Frequently, communication is carried out on a formal and tactical level, and managed in acontrolled way by a corporate communications department. The formal methods used in organizationsinclude:• employee forums, • newsletters, • voice mail broadcasts,• e-mail broadcasts, • intranet sites, • memos and bulletins.These formal methods work well to ensure that employees get the same information at thesame time.Although invaluable, these formal communication methods may not be effective in conveyingthe vital context for what employees want and need to know about their workplace andorganization. Furthermore, employees often miss critical information that their organizationswant them to have. That is, either they do not receive the information or they do not understandit. This may result from employees receiving too much information (e.g., e-mail proliferation)and not being able to differentiate between essential and nonessential information.Thus, leaders must use multiple methods of communication: formal (as already listed) andinformal (e.g., one-on-one meetings, small group meetings, phone conversations, hallwaychats). Leaders must repeat key information over time and in many different ways. This isespecially critical during times of significant change within organizations, as employees oftenhear and interpret communications through their own anxieties, and even through their ownworst fears.SECTION 8 TOOLS FOR COMMUNICATION 239