Beyond the Babble Leadership Communication that Drives Results

Foreword ix

The Authors xiii

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction 1

1. The Power of Communication 9

On Strategy Communication Cuts Through Babble 14

Effective Communication Gets Results 16

Why Communication Makes a Difference 19

Summary 23

2. On Strategy Communication: An Overview 25

The Action Equation 27

The People Channel 34

Summary 43

3. Do: What Do You Need Employees to Do? 45

The Elements of On Strategy Direction 47

Setting a Clear Path for the Land of Oz 57

Summary 61

4. Know: What Do Employees Need to Know to Take Action? 63

They Need to Know Why 64

Who Needs to Know? 70

The Land of Oz Knows 74

Summary 74

5. Feel: What Do Employees Need to Feel to Take Action? 77

Be an Organizational Psychologist 82

Getting the Insights You Need 83

The Land of Oz Gets Emotional 84

Summary 85

6. The "Why Nots": What’s Getting in the Way? 87

The Behavior Chain 88

Addressing a "Why Not" 92

Be an Organizational Archeologist 95

The Land of Oz Confronts Its Demons 98

Summary 100

7. Package: Turn the Action Equation into a Conversation 101

Conversations Are "In the Moment" 103

The Memory Issue 104

The Conversation Platform 105

The Land of Oz Gets Ready to Roll 108

When Issues Are the Issue 108

Summary 114

8. Align: Make Sure All Leaders Are On Strategy 117

Don’t Be Fooled 118

Start at the Top and Work to the Front Line 120

Promote Open Discussion at Multiple Levels 122

Include Informal Leaders in the People Channel 125

Summary 126

9. Equip: Give Leaders the Tools They Need to Communicate On Strategy 129

Train Leaders as if Strategy Depended on It 130

Support Local Leaders and the People Channel 135

Recognize and Strengthen the Weak Links 139

Complementary Leader Assignments 141

Summary 143

10. Drive and Support: Orchestrate and Sustain On Strategy Conversation 145

Create a Drumbeat 146

To Raise the Volume, Run a Campaign 154

How Communication (the Function) Can Help 158

Summary 165

11. You: The Top Leader's Role 167

Expect a Lot 167

Measurement 169

Reward, Recognize, and Hold Accountable 174

Prioritize 175

Lead by Example 176

12. "How to" Resource Guide 179

Conducting Discussion Groups 179

The Memory Game 186

Alignment Interviews and Snapshot 187

The Consider-Dialogue-Solve Process 191

Conducting a "Red Face" Test 193

Identifying Informal Leaders 195

Selecting Vehicles: Opportunities Abound 196

Glossary of Terms 205

Notes 207

Index 209