Communication is the balm of corporate success in that it helps maintain cohesiveness. I have worked for companies that had excellent communication throughout the chain-of-command. Although there were problems and disagreements, communication from the leadership team was always thorough and timely. That fact made the culture far more pleasurable a work environment.
In many companies, this need for strong communication is devalued. MarketingProfs.com has this article – Wanted: Leadership and People Skills. The gist of the article is the need for finding CEO’s with strong communication abilities.
When asked “what do you look for when recruiting talent” at the recent Leaders in London conference, Richard Branson gave this answer: “People who are good with people. If the person at the top cares about the person cleaning the floor and the people on the switchboard, then everyone comes alive. If the people at the top are not good with people, then it ricochets down and the culture of the organization is miserable for everyone.”
Notice that Sir Richard didn’t say “people who graduated with top honors from the most prestigious B-schools, and who truly understand the financial and competitive demands of business today.”
Executives have to be able to interact with and manage their own personnel if they are to foster their core beliefs about the company in those people and nurture the corporate brand. They also have to be willing to listen to their employees, who are much closer to “the action” than the executive branch.
How true. I’ve always believed culture flows from the top down. What I mean is that the majority of my perception of the corporate culture is formed from my interaction with my boss. And his or her perception of the corporate culture is formed from his or her interaction with their boss. And so forth. If the CEO provides a strong communication culture, it trickles down through the entire organization.
Companies where the CEO does not have strong people skills or communication ability tend to be stiffer – more likely to have a mechanistic culture that does not promote fluid communication. It has been my experience that these companies are more secretive, hierarchal and withholding of information.