Chapter 25Top-Down CommunicationsWhy People Do and Don't Listen
While it is most important to foster conversation about your strategy among the people doing the work and to decorate the change to keep it highly visible, as we talked about in the last two chapters, top-down communication from the leader is also necessary.
Top-down communication is not enough on it's own, but it's very important as a leader to show up consistently and make your presence and your personal commitment to the transformation felt. Your communications make your own personal engagement tangible and visible through the long Middle—it's another one of the things that decorate the change.
What Everyone Is Thinking
I'm listening to this guy talk about this new thing, but I wonder.… What does he really believe? Is this transformation really his idea, or is he being forced to do this by the company? Is he really serious, or is this just more big talk about change that will never happen? Are we really going to do it? I doubt it. I will watch and see what he does next. If I don't see him talking about this again soon, I just won't worry about it…
Your organization is watching you. You have the chance to be highly present and consistent, or absent or haphazard, in your communications. Even if you have done an excellent job in creating conversations and decorating the change, your people need to hear directly from you too.
A critical action in implementing your strategy is that you are communicating about it ...
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