Communication is the cultural driver of all organizations. The way leaders from front-line to senior executives communicate sets the tone. Each level has distinct opportunities to promote respect, innovation and collaboration to establish a positive “can do” culture.
Consider the following as you review your communication structure and approach. 
Find your leadership level below and try incorporating at least two of these tips.
Executive Leaders
- Ask for your team’s input before you go to strategic meetings (What would they like to share with the CEO?) and provide updates to your direct reports (sometimes the whole team) following those meetings
- Hold regular (weekly) progress and priority review meetings with your direct reports as a group, so all hear the same message and can help each other out
- When something big happens, share the news- and help your team know how to react
- Network regularly with your colleagues within and outside your company and encourage your middle managers to do the same to gain/share insight and ideas and build a support system
- Know who is contributing, who is having success and/or problems on the front line and provide the “atta boy” or “sympathetic ear” as guided by your direct reports
- Go to bat for resources your team needs to meet goals and thank them for asking for the help
Middle Managers
- Keep your executive leaders informed of major or impactful progress events or setbacks; let them know your plans to address them and ask for their help
- When issues or events in your area might impact your colleagues’ performance, let them know as soon as possible and support efforts to mitigate negative impact. Example: If a billing issue results in errors on customer bills, alerting Customer Service, Finance and Public Relations areas can prevent major service, image and cost impacts
- Pull your front-line leaders together at least once a week. Establish a set agenda that includes:
- Review of goals, status and resource allocation and agree on real-time changes to address issues and get on track for goal achievement
- Preview of anticipated work and workload in the months ahead, engaging them in early planning
- Share broader company news to keep them linked and prepared to answer questions from their teams
- Achievement or achiever to be celebrated and lessons learned this week…
- Hold individual “catch up” meetings with each direct report at least bi-weekly to focus on their area and their personal development
- Ask your direct reports for input prior to meeting with your leadership- what they want them to know, questions they have, et al, and debrief with them afterward
- Check in regularly with your colleagues and counterparts to learn and share pertinent information to help each other- check in with your team before these meetings to plan topics
- Walk the floor (or field) regularly, ask how things are going- notice achievements and listen with empathy- guided by the front-line leader of the area
Front line managers
- Keep informed- make sure you understand priorities and the reasoning behind them and share that with your team
- Hold daily team huddles at the beginning of each shift:
- Remind all of priorities and responsibilities for the day
- Reassign resources as necessary due to changes in priority or absence
- Ensure all have what they need to meet the day’s expectations
- Share broader company news
- Work with your colleagues to address quality issues they/you may have
- Look for opportunities to praise- and pull the next levels in to do so as well
- Celebrate those who catch problems early and those who creatively solve them
- Address non-performance firmly and respectfully- with an eye toward solution vs. punishment
- Check in with each individual on your team at least once per day
- Watch for growing backlogs and make needed changes in process or resources to keep in check
- Ask your colleagues for people if you need resources and help them out when you can
- When you have capacity, use it for cross-training and team-building
- Have your people review your work once in a while- take their feedback graciously and seriously
As you incorporate some of these tips into your management routine, observe the impact on team culture and post the results in the comments section and then try another and see what happens!
Add Your Thoughts Below