How Leaders Create a Strong Communication Culture at Work
As I write in my book, Small Moments, Big Outcomes: How Leaders Create Cultures That Fuel Extraordinary Results, when it comes to workplace culture, communication everything and everything is communication.
Communication is so critical, in fact, that my latest Five Minutes With guest, communications expert Lauren Sergy, suggests leaders need to create a communication culture. What the heck is a communication culture, you ask? Well, watch the video or read the transcript below to find out!
Creating a Communication Culture
Michael Kerr: Hello everyone. Sorry we were just doing our vocal warmups here. You see, my guest on this five minutes width is none other than Lauren Sergy. She is a communications expert and a speaker on communications. Lauren, I want to talk to you about what is a communication culture? What do you mean by that phrase?
Lauren Sergy: Okay. With communication culture, we are talking about how people in an organization or a workplace speak to one another. So it’s the norms and the practices of their communication and critically it is how easily communication and information moves around in the organization. So whether it’s a culture of high trust or of low trust of open communication or of closed communication. It’s how people talk.
Michael Kerr: How people talk at work. Pretty simple definition. And I’m sure you agree with me. on this point, I talk about this in my last book, Small Moments, Big Outcomes, about how communication is everything and everything is communication when we talk about building a great workplace culture. So what are some of the top priority things people, maybe especially leaders need to keep in mind to build a communication culture?
Lauren Sergy: Okay. Top priority thing is that the responsibility rests with the leaders. You set the tone, you set the example. If there is stuff happening lower down the ladder, always assume it’s your fault. Because the people higher up the ladder are the ones with all the power. Communication and information, the access to that and the ability to direct it is a result of power. So people who are communicating up the ladder are always taking a higher risk. So for leaders, you want to create an environment that’s safe. That doesn’t mean free of responsibility. It means that people can come to you with problems and mistakes and you won’t blow up and blame them for it because that will cause them to not communicate those issues. You want to be predictable in your communication. Do people know what to expect from you mood-wise, emotion-wise when they walk into the office and talk?
Because Steve Jobs’ tantrums might’ve made great stories, but it makes for a terrible communication culture and a culture of accountability. Do people communicate properly when they need to to the person that they’re supposed to be communicating with? That’s the tone that leaders need to set.
Michael Kerr: I love that idea of predictability because I think we’ve all worked in a workplace where it’s like, is it okay to go and see Bob this morning? What’s Bob mood this morning? Yeah.
Lauren Sergy: What happened with him and his wife last night?
Michael Kerr: So Lauren, you talked about building a culture of safety. What are some ways that we can do that to make it safe for people to speak up? Because this is a huge issue.
Lauren Sergy: Oh, it’s a really big issue. The big thing when I’m talking about safety is that people will not feel like their jobs will be in jeopardy if they bring bad news to the leaders. So when you create a culture of safety, a really good practice is to separate the person from the problem. And the way that you do that in communication is you use lots of neutral pronoun-free language. So instead of saying, “You did this, they did that, ” you say, “This is the problem. Here’s what we need to do to fix that problem.” And you talk about the problem, the thing that happened, don’t attach it to people because then they don’t feel like they’re being personally attacked. Doesn’t mean there isn’t accountability and responsibility. It just means you’re good about separating people from problems.
Michael Kerr: Right. And I think we have to remember, just even like you say, just even the use of a pronoun can make a difference. A single word can make a difference. There’s a difference between saying to somebody, “You’re wrong,” versus, “I think that is wrong.”
Lauren Sergy: Yeah. Bob screwed up the media interview. The media interview didn’t go as hoped.
Michael Kerr: Right, right!
Lauren Sergy: Totally different. You know I think I threw Boob under the bus. Poor Bob. He knows he’s screwed up.
Michael Kerr: I know Bob is creating a lot of troubles here this morning. Poor Bob.
Lauren Sergy: You don’t need to rub it in his face.
Michael Kerr: We are.
Lauren Sergy: The interview didn’t go well. That’s the sort of thing that I mean.
Michael Kerr: Right. Okay. We’ve got 30 seconds here. What’s one final big tip that you think is just really important for people to embrace?
Lauren Sergy: Have your people between different departments talk to each other a lot and understand how on department’s information and work meshes with another departments because when they understand that, silos break down.
Michael Kerr: Right. Better cross-department communication, to break down silos. That’s awesome!
Lauren Sergy: Such a huge difference. Everyone needs to understand what everyone else does.
Michael Kerr: Excellent. Thank you so much Lauren Sergy for helping us understand what a communication culture is and why a culture of communication matters!
For more on this topic, hop on over to: 10 Reasons You MUST Give Your Employees a Voice
And… Why You Need to Give New Employees a Voice
So, what do you think? Where does your organization get it right when it comes to creating a culture of communication and where does it struggle?
Please leave a comment, idea, or question below, because your voice matters too!
Known as “The Workplace Energizer!” Michael Kerr is a Canadian Hall of Fame keynote speaker on workplace culture, workplace culture leadership, and humor in the workplace. Michael Kerr is the author of nine books, including Small Moments, Big Outcomes: How Leaders Create Cultures That Fuel Extraordinary Results. Michael is known as one of the most entertaining, humorous, and insightful keynote speakers on workplace culture and leadership in Canada.
“By far, Michael Kerr was the best speaker we ever had.” Rod Smith, VP Business Development, Century Vallen
