Establishing Leadership Through Strategic Internal Communication

1. Establishing Leadership Through Strategic Internal Communication Lectures Based on Leadership Communication By Deborah J. Barrett, Ph.D.

2. Discussion Topics • Establishing the strategic role of employee communication • Using visions and missions to strengthen internal communication • Designing an effective change communication program

3. The Objectives of Effective Employee Communication • Educate employees in the company vision and strategic goals • Motivate support for company’s strategy • Encourage higher performance and discretionary effort • Limit misunderstandings that may damage productivity • Align employees behind company’s strategic objectives and position them to help achieve them

4. Supportive Management On-going Assessment Targeted Messages Well-positioned Staff Effective Media/ Forums Strategic Employee Communication Model

5. Best Practice Definition of Model Components • Best Practice Definition • Communications used to reinforce strategic objectives and to ensure employees understand new direction • Top-level management involved in and actively assuming responsibility for communications • Targeted, consistent, frequently repeated messages designed to clarify company vision, strategy, and direction • More emphasis placed on informal, face-to-face communications than on formal vehicles Component Strategic objectives Supportive management Targeted messages Effective media/Forums

6. Best Practice Definition of Model Components (continued) • Best Practice Definition • Employees positioned strategically and deployed as change agents • Change communication success measured frequently against clearly defined goals; communication effectiveness included in individual performance appraisals • Change communications integrated into business processes with communication milestones included in business plan Component Well-positioned staff On-going assessment Integrated processes

7. Discussion Topics • Establishing the strategic role of employee communication • Using visions and missions to strengthen internal communication • Designing an effective change communication program

8. Establishing and Using Missions and Visions • What are missions and visions? • Why should you use them? • When are they most effective? • How do you build one?

9. The mission is why a company exists. An effective mission does the following: Defines a company’s basic business Ensures employees are pointed in the same direction Establishes a single, noble purpose and an enduring reality What is a Mission Statement?

10. Examples of Missions Ford: “We are a global family with a proud heritage, passionately committed to providing personal mobility for people around the world. We anticipate consumer needs and deliver outstanding products and services that improve people’s lives.” Sun Microsystems: “Solve complex network computing problems for governments, enterprises, and service providers.” Jones Graduate School of Management: “The Jones School is dedicated to quality education, personal attention, outstanding research, and integration with the greater community.”

11. What is a Vision? • The vision is what the company wants to become. • An effective vision does the following: • Reflects the company leaders’ willingness to project into the future • Expresses aspirations • Describes an inspiring new reality, achievable in a reasonable timeframe • Guides internal actions • Usually starts with the words “to become” or “to create”

12. Examples of Visions Ford: “Our vision is to become the world’s leading Consumer Company for automotive products and services.” Sun Microsystems:“Everyone and everything connected to the network.” Jones Graduate School of Management: “To be a premier business school with international recognition and stature of the highest order. It will prepare future business leaders to make substantial contributions to the well-being of society.”

13. Why Use Mission and Vision Statements? • Establish a firm foundation of goals, standards, and objectives to guide corporate planners and managers • Satisfy both company’s need for efficiency and employees’ need for group identity • Inspire individual action, determine behavior, and fuel motivation • Provide direction to keep everyone moving in the same direction

14. Approaches to Building an Effective Mission and Vision Build the mission and vision from the inside out, using one of the following approaches: • CEO/leader developed • Leader-senior team visioning • Bottom-up visioning

15. Steps in Building an Effective Mission and Vision • Create the initial draft • Of the mission by • Defining what you do • Identifying the core products or services • Determining your value proposition • Of the vision by • Deciding what the company wants or can become • Establishing the critical success factors in the marketplace • Identifying strengths and weaknesses • Clarifying the company’s opportunities and threats

16. Steps in Building an Effective Mission and Vision (continued) • Clarify the meaning • Tell the world in 25 words or less what you are and want to become • Develop the strategic objectives to make the vision specific and actionable • Create a “final” version and hold meetings with employees to test it

17. Mission Strategic Objectives Relationship of Mission and Vision to Strategic Objectives The Future Vision How we get to the vision

18. What are Strategic Objectives? • Strategic objectives help to make a vision more meaningful and actionable • They should be • Specific actions designed to help accomplish the vision and bring sustainable competitive advantage • Longer-term measurable targets, usually divided into two categories: • Quantitative goals • Qualitative goals

19. Vision Strategic Objectives Example Vision with Strategic Objectives To be the market leader in providing high performing, cost-effective products and services that enable system-wide success for all of our customers by • Creating seamless integration of system critical components • Providing products at a superior value at prices at or below all major competitors • Supplying management of all products and support for all systems • Establishing partnerships to ensure customers have integrated, highly reliable system-wide solutions

20. Discussion Topics • Establishing the strategic role of employee communication • Using visions and missions to strengthen internal communication • Designing an effective change communication program

21. Level 3: Major All of strategic program plus employee work- shops to redefine work habits and change employee behavior at all levels with frequent program and performance feedback and assessment Level 2: Strategic Strategic messages, using all vehicles but relying primarily on interactive meetings with periodic program and performance assessment Level 1: Basic Targeted, strategic messages, mostly one-directional, with periodic assessment Levels of ChangeCommunication Effort

22. Form a cross-functional, multi-level communication team Assess current employee communication practices against best practices Target gaps in communication for immediate improvement Essential Change Communication Steps

23. Develop a vision and strategic objectives if needed Conduct cascading vision, strategy, job redefinition workshops Monitor the results and make adjustments if find communication breakdowns Essential Change Communication Steps(continued)

24. Discussion Summary • Effective internal communication holds an organization together and allows it to function effectively and efficiently. • The strategy for internal communication consists of the same basic components of any effective communication strategy. • Effective internal communication requires leaders to ensure all important messages, such as missions, visions, and strategic objectives, are understood by all employees. • To succeed, any major change program must be supported by change communication.