The Power of Communication

You're on a routine airplane flight, contemplating the important business meeting you are about to attend. Suddenly, there is a bang and a shudder. The plane makes a hard turn to the right. Turbulence continues to jostle the plane, but not a word from the pilot. The longer you and the other passengers wait for an explanation, the greater your anxiety grows. As tension mounts, you forget about your approaching meeting. Your thoughts turn inward. Thoughts of your family and your own mortality. You want to know what you can do, but immediately recognize that you have no control. You can't even influence the outcome. You feel despair, overwhelmed, unable to contribute, even to your own survival.

A few simple words from the pilot are all you, the crew, and the other passengers need to make appropriate decisions about what to do and where to focus your concentration—after all, the pilot is only a few feet away. But without the leadership of the pilot and the communication he can provide, each individual on the plane becomes an island. Each person concentrates only on him or herself and his or her own needs. Whatever can be done won't be done.

When communication fails in an organization, just as it did on the airplane, uncertainty grows. Focus moves from common goals to individual needs. The organization flounders and is unable to take advantage of the creativity, knowledge, and skills of its people. Only when they understand and internalize where the organization is going, how it will get there, and how each of them can contribute to its success, can the people in an organization fully focus their abilities.

That's why effective communication is so critical in times of great change. The failure of countless corporate change initiatives is directly attributed to poorly conceived and executed communication plans. Successful change requires clear, consistent, and credible communication within the context of a well-planned strategic communication process. At Change Leadership Services, our proven change management process puts the right message in front of the right people at the right time to accomplish the key objectives of alignment, agility, and pride.