We employee communicators are constantly trying to bridge the gap between ourselves and our CEOs. But we tend to drink our own bathwater, mainly looking at the problem from the communicator’s point of view. So it’s wonderful to get a fresh perspective on the subject, especially from a respected business leader.
I’m lucky to know Roger Martin, former management consultant, current Dean of Toronto’s Rottman School of Business, author and frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review. I sent him a copy of my recent JECM article, which is an entreaty of sorts to CEOs to change the way they think about internal communication.
Roger has kindly agreed to let me share our short e-mail conversation about the article with FYA readers:
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Ron:
Good article. I like the advice. There is one thing that I would encourage further thinking about.
It is the following: All of the functions want the CEO to involve them earlier in whatever process you are talking about – IT, legal, marketing, design, HR, etc., etc. So you may think your call for earlier involvement is unique but it is not. And if you told that to the CEO, he/she would probably roll his/her eyes. The key is how can the communications team earn the right to have a voice earlier in the process. The answer? By making the CEO’s job easier not harder; and that means solving the CEO’s toughest problem with respect to the task at hand, not telling him/her that what he/she is about to do is problematic for this, that or the other reason. If they do that, guess what, they will always be at the table. If they don’t, they will find out later and be asked to do the best they can to minimize whatever downsides there are.
Cheers.
R.
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Roger,
You make an important point, and it’s a longstanding belief in the field of communications that the only way to earn that seat a the strategic table is to provide advice and deliver communications that directly support the business goals of the organization.
But I see how you might think my article is aimed at making CEOs’ lives harder by throwing a bunch of requirements and considerations in his or her path. But here’s the problem: too often corporate executives fall prey to short-term thinking that puts expediency ahead of investing in their relationship with employees. The challenge for communicators (and, as you note, IT, legal, design, HR, etc. etc.) is to find ways to elbow our way into the conversation before the decision takes place, and give the kind of advice that delivers results. From my point of view, that means having a conversation with CEOs during peacetime that sets the stage for better decision making, which in turn leads to the kind of positive outcomes that build trust and inclusion.
I’m optimistic that more of those kinds of conversations are going to take place in the coming years as corporate leaders come to the realization that if they don’t engage their employees, the best ones will go somewhere else.
Ron
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Ron:
Agreed. I think both have to bend toward the middle. CEOs have to understand the importance of communications folks getting involved earlier AND communications folks have to be better integrative problem solvers. Then it will all work.
Cheers.
R.
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