Apr 27 07
Management Through Broadcasting
By Renn Vara
This is going to sound a bit weird: after doing this work for almost 20 years, I’ve only recently noticed how our customers use corporate broadcast tools to manage their people and processes. Of course, communication has always been an essential tool of leadership. But with the advent of instant messaging (IMs), email, blogs and emerging tools like Twitter, leaders now face the possibility of over-communicating vs. consistently communicating. So, using all these tools as complimentary vehicles rather than overkill is the challenge of the day.
Thinking about management vs. just communicating, here are a few of my observations that you might find true or useful in your business:
– First of all, embrace the art of “drive by.” For years this practice was disparaged by management coaches and trainers. But with the pervasive use of IMs, online drive bys are a reality of business life. Don’t be afraid to “ping” team members with singular questions or ideas throughout the day even as you’re forming an idea or directive.
– Don’t be afraid to tell your employees or team what you know before the idea or directive is completely formed. Just talk, clarify, talk some more, then clarify, etc. Don’t be afraid of miscommunication. Better to be slightly off than to leave them to surmise for themselves. Not talking is communicating, too.
– Don’t be afraid to engage your employees or team through blogs - written, audio or video. Communicate fast and often. Accuracy is less important than communicating. Just keep it short and clear.
– Teach your team to make face-to-face meetings the last resort. They are important but because of the time commitment required, use them sparingly. Conference calls, too. Think in hierarchical terms with communication tools and ask the question, can this team or idea move forward using 1) instance message drive bys, 2) email, 3) conference call or 4) a face to face meeting?
– Embrace the “always on” culture of online life. Think of your computer as a telephone and keep it in a public place within your home or office. Treos and Blackberrys, too. Work is good, and it’s alright to incorporate it into your life. The days of compartmental living are over. Yes, you heard me.
– And finally, challenge your team to follow your lead. Break the old world habits of command and control management. The world is flat, and your job is to teach your team this new reality. So get started.
Obviously this requires a certain amount of patience on everyone’s part. For example, typing a quick IM or email can sometimes be misunderstood as anger or frustration. So the idea of giving each other the benefit of the doubt is essential. Ask questions and judge not. This also requires team members to embrace the art of multitasking.
I’m doing what I’m preaching. These ideas aren’t completely thought through. So add your own. Engage, clarify, and together we’ll learn something new. Management will never be the same. Thank God.
–end
so, I agree with everything you just said…especially the “drive by” concept. Some of the best leaders that I’ve met have this way of doing things. It’s not for everybody, nor will it come naturally to some, but a trend that is real and needed for business today.
I’m learning about being “always on”, having come from a very different corporate culture - mostly government personnel who are very 9 to 5. And, I like it - being “on”. I feel more productive and less immediately stressed in the morning or end of day. But, I’m also a big believer in “off” time - sometimes, albeit rarely, that computer and those blackberries need to just stop beeping, buzzing and ringing. I think that’s the lesson the next generation has yet to learn…or is that flipped?
Thanks for the clarification. I agree with the “off” time like a vacation or movie nights. My point is that work/play/life should be viewed as an all in one experience. The 9-5 life ended long ago as you sound like you’ve come to enjoy. And that’s my point. Enjoy it. Thanks for your post.
The idea of communicating “fast and often” seems great for small- to mid-sized companies, or teams. How can you translate this into a larger corporate environment, for example communications from the CEO to the entire org? Many CEO’s equate accuracy with credibility, so how do you get them to focus on “fast and often” instead?
“Don’t be afraid to tell your employees or team what you know before the idea or directive is completely formed. Just talk, clarify, talk some more, then clarify, etc. Don’t be afraid of miscommunication. Better to be slightly off than to leave them to surmise for themselves. Not talking is communicating, too.”
I agree with this but definitely see it as a challenge since the natural inclination is to fully develop one’s ideas before presenting them to your peers, and even more so to your superiors.
I know from personal experience that not all professional environments nurture this. If members of a team disagree and don’t understand how to communicate “back and forth” does the idea suffer? What’s the solution when the existing culture doesn’t facilitate it this kind of communication?
I really agree with the tips around how “instant communication” can charge seemingly harmless words with a unanticipated tone. Likewise, headliners and other very brief communications can carry a heavier weight with fewer words. Therefore, sometimes those shorter communications require more consideration in order to make the best economy of your brevity than businesspeople anticipate.
Thanks for all the great comments. We have a number of great models for “communicating fast and often” in larger enterprises. Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems has taken this to new heights for many years, hosting his own candid monthly radio program for more than 10 years and now with his current blog. Tom Mendoza from NetApp too. They are big believers in “drive by” and always being on. They talk, clarify, then talk some more. Sadly the issue is rarely the CEO but the support staff or what we call handlers. That’s the challenge, to know when to step in and when to let your boss talk. An interesting balance to be sure.
One of the key things to really impactful communication is asking questions. People don’t seem to do enough of it. What do you think?
I love the blog thing…the only thing I don’t get is that I’m not notified that a conversation is going on…do i have to come to the blog to know that other people are blogging? I thought that since I have subscribed (twice) that I’d get a ping…or did I just make that up…like the fact that electricity is going to be wireless…south is down…and bad smells actually harm you.
“Teach your team to make face-to-face meetings the last resort. They are important but because of the time commitment required, use them sparingly.”
As busy as our worlds are on a day-to-day basis, it makes sense to find other ways to move ideas along without having to wrangle everyone into a meeting. But sometimes the emails, IMs and individual drive-bys add up to more annoying and time-consuming exchanges where people still aren’t on the same page.
That’s when getting on a quick conference call or gathering to talk things over might be more productive and efficient than the constant back-and forth typing. Meetings aren’t always fun or productive— but isn’t it a nice surprise when that magical synergy takes over and ideas start flying around? I agree that we shouldn’t abuse each other’s limited and valuable time with petty meetings all day long (I can only take so much of you guys as it is), but sometimes it’s more beneficial to get everyone together.
And it doesn’t hurt to tell people about the cold beers you’ll have waiting for them, either.
Renn,
You’ve started a really useful conversation here. Nice going.
The drive-by idea actually caught me off guard, since I’m of the “communicate for understanding” school of thought. So the hit-and-run conjured up an image that was inconsistent with my usual thinking.
But the more I thought about it and read the other comments, the more I like the idea. Jessica made a good point about short communication needing a lot of forethought for clarity. Clarity is a win for everyone involved. Jordan’s remark about some corporate cultures being averse to this is also quite true. In those cases, you could actually get into some trouble for trying to “do the right thing” when it comes to drive-by communication.
I think you’ve hit on a model that could be useful if developed further with some guidelines for how best to make it work. Perhaps the ongoing comments will do just that.
Matt Johnson is so bad, Chuck Norris has to think twice before taking him out.