The Communication Challenge

Ask a leader, “What’s on your list of toughest safety challenges?” communication is certain to be given prominent mention. Follow up, asking, “What exactly is the problem with communications?” you’ll get an earful: followers who don’t listen to what their leaders say; when they listen, they argue with the message; they ignore or forget what they’re told. Closing the communication loop, information coming from followers to their leaders is incomplete, selective, inaccurate. 
 
Not that you needed to be reminded of any of that. You’re living with this challenge every single day. 
 
Followers have their own set of complaints, guaranteed to be voiced whenever an attitude survey is run. It’s a finding so predictable you might want to consider saving on the cost of a survey, and deal with the problem that feels like there’s a “failure to communicate.” 
 
That nobody is satisfied with how the communication process is working is hardly new news. On the other hand, a better understanding of the process might lead to a different focus on dealing with the challenge, and that offers the potential to actually change things for the better.
 
I doubt followers would object.

Appreciating Language
 
We’ve been talking so long we take the process for granted. We just open our mouths and the words come flying out. Then you have the experience of speaking with someone who has no idea what you’re saying – and the feeling is mutual. You begin to appreciate this wonderful capability we humans have raised to an art form: language. Intrigue, emotion, subtlety, cleverness, humor are swept into our words.
 
If you doubt me, read the first page of The Great Gatsby. A century ago, F. Scott Fitzgerald brought them all – in under 500 words. 
 
I was reminded of the beauty of language during a recent engagement, teaching classes where my students and I had nothing in common, language-wise. Tough ask. I was fortunate to have a wonderful interpreter who literally saved the day. As to the process, I’d ask a question in English, then listen as it was translated into a set of sounds that made no sense, whatsoever. But students would reply in similar fashion. Finally, she’d translate all that noise into something I could understand. 
 
Voila: the function of language.
 
For example, I asked, “What are your toughest safety challenges?” Eventually the reply came, translated as “Communications with our followers.” 
 
I thought, “I hear you, loud and clear.” Albeit, in a roundabout way.
 
This illustrates the process at its most fundamental: sound waves are used to convey information – and emotion ­– to other humans. That makes clear the effectiveness of the process is largely found on the receiving end, taking place in the five and half inch space between the ears of the listener.
 
Yes, that’s obvious. So, why is anyone ever the least bit annoyed by having a hard time communicating with some fellow human? 
 
The obvious solution to the listening problem would appear to be to write things down; that way there can be no misunderstanding. 
 
Even if we assume everyone is literate, and in the same language, look at the words we use, and the way we use them. The same word can often mean entirely different things. Lead, pronounced various ways serves to illustrate. We further complicate matters by using words in creative and clever ways. “Get the lead out” is not a request to find a pencil and start writing.
 
Life is complicated enough, and our goal here is to uncomplicate matters. Let’s sum this point up by noting that leading through the use of words is neither simple nor easy.
 
By comparison, Leading by Example requires no interpretation.
 
Put the Audience First
 
This simple look at process makes you appreciate that communication really is all about the listener. Taking that approach requires the sender to get out of their own head; habit dictates otherwise. PowerPoints serve as the perfect illustration.
 
Every single time I see a leader put up a PowerPoint, the first question I always ask myself is, “Who’s that for? Your audience – or you?” PowerPoints ought to benefit the listener, not serve as the leader’s Cliff Notes. All those extra words do is clutter up the message, making the process even harder. “Sorry for this busy slide.”
 
I will tell you this is a very tough sell – to leaders. But not to followers, who refer to it as “death by PowerPoint.” 
 
As to the message – the point served by the words – that too ought to be designed for the listener. Sure, there are plenty of things leaders need to tell followers: advice, direction, expectations, praise, the need to do better. As to how, that ought to be done in a way that gets the message across so the listener understands and is influenced. Otherwise, it’s just noise. 
 
The best answer is found in best practices. There’s a best practice to give a compliment; coach someone up who’s not working safely; set expectations; ask a question that engages and gets people thinking. The leaders who were the sources of those practices were those clever enough to have figured out what worked best to get the message across to the receiver.
 
For practices like these, you can certainly try to figure them out on your own. Or you can follow the model of those who’ve been successful. Not hard to figure out which way is easier and better.
 
Listen Up! 
 
Largely ignored in all these words about communications is listening. The point’s been made that the follower’s listening is paramount to the process. A leader can’t make people listen; followers have to want to listen. Easier said than done, right?
 
Not necessarily. Followers routinely decide on their own to listen up, and listen good. You might recognize those situations as Moments of High Influence. I suspect a significant part of the “communication problem” comes about because there’s a disconnect between what leaders say in situations when they want followers to listen, and when the leaders don’t realize their followers are actually listening very closely.
 
One more reason to see things from the follower’s standpoint.
 
Speaking of, leaders would do well to understand what it is about their communications that produces all the complaints from followers. Asking the simple follow up question posed at the opening – “What exactly is the problem with communications?” – would be incredibly valuable.
 
It’s been my experience that this critical aspect of the communications problem has been neglected. Leaders jump to the conclusion that “more” is always the solution to the problem. Meaning “less” is the problem.
 
Is it?
 
That’s for you to judge. I would note that today the amount of information coming the way of those doing the work is enormous. It didn’t used to be that way. But for all the internet portals, emails and town halls, the level of satisfaction hasn’t changed much. If that’s the case in your operation, there must be a different explanation for the problem. What is it?
 
Try asking. Then, listening.
 
Giving Up Information
 
Circling back to the leaders’ frustration with the communication process, there’s one aspect of the problem deserving immediate attention: what followers aren’t telling their leaders. You know: about the shortcuts, the problems, the close calls, the risks, the whole story, the ugly truth. 
 
Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a problem limited to the front line: stuff like this goes on across the entire management chain of command. If it were otherwise, no CEO would ever be the least bit surprised by the news something terribly bad went wrong. “Everybody told me about this problem. I knew it was only a matter of time.”
 
Getting followers to “give up” information is one tough challenge; it’s also one of the most serious. There’s a common thread in the biggest headline making events in safety and environmental performance: a lot of people knew there were problems. They just weren’t those at the top. 
 
Yes, it’s one more problem falling on the shoulders of leaders to do something about. The alternative is to cross your fingers, hoping you’re not on the receiving end of news that comes as a big surprise.
 
Setting expectations is one option. The most successful banker in the business, Jamie Dimon, was known for telling followers, “If you have a problem and tell me, it’s our problem. If you have a problem and don’t tell me, it’s your problem. And you don’t want to have a problem.” 
 
Tough words, but still no guarantee.  A decade ago, Dimon was shocked to learn a trader named the “London Whale” decided to throw caution to the winds, racking up $6 billion in losses.
 
A better solution is found managing consequences in a way that the positives of communicating problems up outweigh the benefits of keeping them off the leader’s radar screen. Any progress in that direction might save yourself from finding out about some big problem the hard way. 
 
It might even keep the problem from happening. Wouldn’t that be wonderful.
 
 
 
Paul Balmert
October 2024