Company gossip is often considered a negative environmental
factor that must be managed in a corporate context. The idea of workers standing
by the water cooler whispering over the latest “happenings” is frowned upon and
discouraged. But, is there a way to use this natural instinct to gossip to your
corporate advantage? I say yes. In fact
I say, your communications strategy should center on it.
Most organizations go
through a painstaking process to develop their corporate and business strategy.
They analyze industry dynamics,
competitors, internal capabilities and resources then develop a set of
actionable items to drive the business forward. These details are agonized over.
Often, senior executives communicate this strategy to employees though town
halls, email blasts, and appropriately-timed messages. But far too often, the strategic messaging,
while well researched, is often forgotten soon after. What is remembered by the
employees (if anything) are the set of actions, tasks or specific objectives
for which they may be responsible – with limited emotional connection to the
strategy outlined.
So, how do you
connect that strategy to a vision that the employees can relate to?
How do
you create a compelling view of the future that pulls the company – and its
employees – forward? You communicate the strategy and vision through storytelling.
I recognize that story telling is having a bit of resurgence
at the moment. But, it’s largely talked about in concert with a change effort or
specific initiative. But the most effective story telling is that which helps viscerally
describe the companies vision/purpose. Johne Browne (former CEO of British
Petroleum), says a “clear purpose allows a company to focus its learning
efforts in order to increase its competitive advantage, stretch citizens’
imaginations ... and create a cultural glue that allows units to share
knowledge sets."
So, effective story telling can allow a company to create a
bond between the employee and the organization at an emotional level. That emotional connection allows the company
to capture the “extra effort by colleagues,” build loyalty, aid in innovation,
provide context for decision making and enhances productivity. The trick is to find that story in your
company.
Finding and Telling
Your Company’s Story:
No doubt, we all connect to stories of heroes, overcoming
obstacles, following your dream or helping the needy. We automatically begin to
root for and cheer on those individuals, groups or companies that are the
subject of these stories. And in the end, will often go out of our way to help
these protagonists. Every company has a meaningful story that can connect
hearts and minds and create this type of response in its employees. Statistics
show that fewer than 50% of companies survive their first four years. With
those odds, if a company has survived, then there is undoubtedly a story of
heroism, triumph, overcoming odds, surviving a recession, outwitting
competitors etc that must be present. The work is in uncovering that story.
A friend recently told me about the book “Why is Everyone
Smiling?” by Paul Spiegelman, CEO of The Beryl Companies. Paul shares the story
of starting a phone-based health care services company with his brothers:
launching the company involved long nights of personally manning the phones.
One night Paul answered a call from a 93 year-old woman in Los Angeles, Elulia
Newsom. Elulia wasn’t speaking, but Paul could hear faint noices and a slight
knocking through the phone line. Worried, Paul triggered the alarm system that brought
paramedics to Elulia’s home.
When the emergency responders arrived, they found Elulia
locked in a closet and near death. She’d been beaten and stabbed repeatedly by
an intruder who had broken into her home to steal money. The intruder had
failed to take Elulia’s emergency call button, which hung around her neck. It
saved her life.
With a story like this, it’s no wonder that Paul has gone on
to lead an award winning company known for its caring customer service and
impeccable employee engagement. Share that story, and employees will listen,
recognizing it as a clear direction for their own at-work leadership.
More on storytelling in the next blog. Click here for the link.
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Jacquelyn Woodard is a senior vice president with RBS Citizens, and holds an M.B.A. from Harvard University. She is a student in Benedictine University’s Ph.D./D.B.A. program in values-driven leadership.
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Jacquelyn Woodard is a senior vice president with RBS Citizens, and holds an M.B.A. from Harvard University. She is a student in Benedictine University’s Ph.D./D.B.A. program in values-driven leadership.
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Johne Browne quote source: Achieving and Maintaining strategic competitiveness in the 21st
century: The role of strategic leadership. R. Duane Ireland and Michael A. Hitt
Academy of Management Executive 1999 vol. 12 No.1
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