Data, Axioms, Principles of Strategic Communication

© Copyright 2012 Arceil Leadership Ltd. All rights reserved.

unauthorized reproduction or presentation is strictly prohibited

Our Agenda

• Offer a business case for leadership and communication

• Unpack leadership and management, engagement and alignment

• Identify and solve problems of communication for leadership

• Analyze barriers and find solutions for building engagement

• Give you actionable principles, strategies, and tactics


We’re here to challenge

and grow the business

model of your job, to

show you the importance,

the impact and the

satisfaction . . .


. . . of leading people,

and to give you the tools

of communication you need

to do the job well.


The Importance of Dignity

Dignity is as essential to human life as

water, food, and oxygen. The stubborn

retention of it can hold a man‟s soul in

his body long past the point at which the

body should have surrendered. The loss

of it can carry a man off as surely as

thirst, hunger, exposure, and

asphyxiation, and with greater cruelty.

Laura Hillenbrand
Louis Zamperini Unbroken

Arceil Leadership

• At crossroads of leadership, engagement, and change

• Extensive command of best practices

• Benchmarked approximately 30 top-tier companies

• Powerful, grounded models of leadership communication

• Consulting, coaching, speaking, training

• Workshops teach managers how to lead people

About Thomas Lee

• Decades of experience

• Former newspaper columnist

• Fortune 25 CEO‟s speechwriter

• Spoken in 12 countries

• Consulting since 1997

• Many Fortune 500 clients

• Blogs at www.MindingGaps.com

Numbers tell a story.

Beth Bardens
microbiologist


What is the story the following
numbers are telling?


80%
of all change initiatives fall
short of expectations.

John Kotter, Leading Change

57%
of all mergers return less

to shareholders than the

average for their industry.

Harvard Business Review

72% - 91%
of all projects fail to achieve their goals and targets.

Standish Group

78%
of employees report that they are

“currently involved” in one or more

projects that will fail.

VitalSmarts

77%
of employees agree the phrase

“slow-motion train wrecks”

aptly describes these projects.

VitalSmarts

OMG, that‟s two
out of every three
companies!
67%
of all companies surveyed report their

quality efforts “have stalled or fallen short”

of yielding real improvement.

McKinsey & Company

85%
of all re-engineering projects

“just plain and outright fail.”

Management Review

90%
of employees say they know in advance
when a project will fail to meet its
goals and objectives . . ..

Standish Group

. . . but only

19%
believe they can notify management

without being blamed for the failure.

(d’oh!)

Standish Group

Since 1987 job satisfaction

in the United States

has plummeted 16 points*, or

26%
Conference Board

* Most recent data available

Job Satisfaction
in the United States
1987-2009

61% 59%
51% 52%
45%

Source: Conference Board

Distribution of People Engagement

United States Worldwide

Creative Engagement
28 % 21 %
Active Engagement

Passive Engagement 41 %
54 %
Passive Disengagement
38 %
Active Disengagement 18 %

Sources: Gallup, Towers Watson

Five Tiers of Engagement

Passive
Passive
Engagement
Disengagement

© Copyright2012 Arceil Leadership Ltd. All rights reserved
Active
Engagement

Active
Creative
Disengagement
Engagement
~10% ~30% ~40% ~15% ~5%

approximate distribution of companies
(median of ground-level people)

High people engagement accounts for

9.4%
growth in corporate net income.

ISR

On average,

disengaged people miss

more days of work per year

than engaged people miss.

Conference Board

Therefore, physical absenteeism alone costs

$902
per disengaged person, on average, or a total of

$79.2 billion
per year in the United States.

Altogether, the active disengagement of people costs

2.1% - 2.5%
of all economic activity,

conservatively estimated.

(Multiply that by your total revenue.)

In the United States, that adds up to between

$297 billion
and

$353 billion
per year


Customers Do Notice


What Exactly Are

We Talking About?

Five Kinds of Positive Mental Attitude

Commitment

Loyalty

Morale / Satisfaction

Alignment

Engagement

© Copyright 2012 Arceil Leadership Ltd. All rights reserved

Commitment
_______________________

Rising to the level of courage, real commitment in the

work place is doing whatever it takes, and more, to

satisfy the customer within the constraints of safety,

the law, and ethical decency.


Loyalty
_______________________

The disposition of employees to continue serving the

needs of their employer and its customers in an

honest, productive manner in exchange for agreed-

upon compensation and security.


Morale and Satisfaction
_______________________

The degree of happiness or contentment that people derive

from their employment, as a function of compensation,

workplace conditions, personal and professional

relationships, employment security, and opportunity.


Alignment
_______________________

The reliable performance of duties necessary for the organization

to meet the expectations of its customers, most commonly in

terms of product quality, delivery and service requirements,

production and sales quotas, and work processes.


The Four Elements of
Engagement
_______________________

A culture of discretionary effort—focus, curiosity,

passion, and courage—that partners bring to their

work in support and service to the organization, its

purpose, and its customers.


The Genome of Engagement

Fo Cu
Focus Curiosity

Pa Co
Passion Courage


Four Elements of Engagement
Focus

• Focus on strategic situation

• Focus on customer needs and expectations

Fo • Focus on competitive advantages, disadvantages

• Focus on organizational strategy and progress
Focus
• Focus on personal contribution to success

• Focus on future growth and development


Curiosity

• Curiosity on business situation and needs

• Curiosity on customer challenges

Cu • Curiosity on competitor strengths, weaknesses

• Curiosity on vendor quality, pricing
Curiosity
• Curiosity on personal strengths, weaknesses

• Curiosity on implications of strategy

• Curiosity on opportunities for improvement


Passion

• Passion for excellence

• Passion for customer satisfaction

Pa • Passion for the technology or process

• Passion for creative solutions
Passion
• Passion for collaboration and teamwork

• Passion for constant improvement


Courage

• Courage to change one‟s own habits

• Courage to face uncertainty and risk

Co • Courage to observe objectively and accurately

• Courage to reason rigorously, not impetuously
Courage
• Courage to ask difficult questions

• Courage to make innovative suggestions

• Courage to speak truth to power


Nothing of much consequence has ever been achieved, and

nothing of much value has ever been created, that wasn‟t, at

some time . . .

• the point of someone‟s single-minded, intense focus

• the object of someone‟s deep curiosity

• the subject of someone‟s consuming passion

• the product of someone‟s persevering courage

Therefore, we can grow these four things alone

• single-minded, intense focus

• deep curiosity

•

consuming passion

• enduring courage

to change the culture and thus the future of an organization.

1.

The Central Axiom

The work of leadership is different from the work of

management. Their purpose and product are different.

They require different competencies, different mindsets,

and different communication, in substance and in style.


Management
_______________________

The hard work of ensuring performance to a

predetermined expectation, as in quantity or quality:

a budget, a quota, a standard, or a deadline, for example


Alignment is the work product,
the deliverable, of the work of
managing.

If you talk about managing, you
must talk about its deliverable:
alignment of people.

If you talk about alignment, you
must talk about its primary
driver: managing people.


Leadership
_______________________

The harder work of envisioning, inspiring, and bringing

about significant change or breakthrough performance

through the discretionary and self-sacrificing efforts of

people, often in a state of uncertainty, despair, or risk


Engagement is the work product,
the deliverable, of the work of
leading people.

If you talk about leading, you must
talk about its deliverable: the
engagement of people.

If you talk about engagement, you
must talk about its primary driver:
leading people.


Mindset of Managing

Managing is concerned with meeting

predetermined expectations, so good

managers are always on the lookout for

negative deviations from the norm.


Negative deviations from the norm signal

problems, and managers want to avoid

problems. The sooner they see these

problems, the better.

Good managers thus discourage
deviations from the norm.


Mindset of Leading

Leading is concerned with big change or

breakthrough performance, so good

leaders are always on the lookout for

positive deviations from the norm.


Positive deviations from the norm signal

opportunities, and leaders want to seize those

opportunities. The sooner they see these

opportunities, the better.

Good leaders thus encourage
deviations from the norm.

Contrasting Paradigms I
Paradigm of Paradigm of
Managing Leading

Purpose Compliance Change

Deliverable Alignment Engagement

Authority Official Moral

Elevation Appointment Tacit acclamation

Dynamic Power over people Power of people

Motivation Kick in the pants Pride, satisfaction

Rhetoric “You must do this” “We can do this”


Contrasting Paradigms II
Paradigm of Paradigm of
Managing Leading

Resources Scarce; zero sum Growing; win/win

Tone Mandatory Aspirational

Information Data, analysis Invocation

Conversation Report Talk Rapport Talk

Thrust Rational, influence Emotional, inspiration

Mood Pessimism, fear Optimism, confidence

Lookout for Problems Opportunities


Pyramid of Engagement

Creative
Engagement

Active
Engagement

Passive Engagement


Active Disengagement

Gear Box for Engagement

Awareness Understanding Acceptance Commitment

(5.0) Overdrive
Creative Engagement Focus Curiosity Passion Courage

Attention Clarity Trust Cooperation
(4.0) Drive
Active Engagement

Acquaintance Familiarity Ambivalence Inertia
(3.0) Neutral
Passive Engagement

Distraction Confusion Apathy Neglect
(2.0) Park

Alienation Denial Cynicism Resistance
(1.0) Reverse
Active Disengagement

Why So Low?
_______________________

Most successful companies are well-managed,
for good management is what it took to succeed
in the 20th Century.

Few companies even understand the hard work
of leadership. Alas, good leadership is what it
will take to succeed in the 21st Century.


Increasing Need for Leadership
Attention, Resources, Time

Work of Leading

Work of Managing

20th Century 21st Century
Slow Pace of Change Fast
Narrow Geographic Dispersion Broad
Little Delegation of Authority Much
Simple Stakeholder Expectations Complex
Modest Employees Sophistication Great

Each of You Wears Two Hats

Anyone with responsibility

for the work of other

people must be both a

manager and a leader.

Leaders can be primary or

collateral. Both are vital.


Distributed Leadership

Primary Leadership Collateral Leadership

• Identifies the need for change or • Endorses the need for change or

breakthrough performance breakthrough performance

• Creates the vision of future • Translates big picture to small

• Campaigns for the vision • Builds, sustains support for vision

• Empowers collateral leaders • Listens to ground-level people for stories

• Absorbs real-world stories, data • Speaks truth to power with civility


Speak it carefully, with respect.
Speak it calmly, with civility.
But speak it. Always, always speak it.


2.

The Axiom of Energy

Before it can generate the energy of change,
leadership requires the energy of good
communication. Without communication,
efforts to lead invariably wither and die. In a
real sense, leadership is its communication.


Communication is the real work of leadership.

Nitin Nohria
Dean
Harvard Business School

Information, like electricity,

is kinetic. It is something not

to be possessed, but rather

to be circulated. Its power,

its capacity to shed light,

depends upon its movement.

A funny thing happens
in the absence of communication.

Not what you want.
Never what you want.


World Trade Center
11 September 2001


Hurricane Katrina
28-29 August 2005


What we have here, is failure to communicate.
Captain, Road Prison 36
(Strother Martin)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)

Jalem Productions
Directed by Stuart Rosenberg; written by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson

The biggest problem with

communication is the illusion

that it has taken place.

George Bernard Shaw


Communication as Energy

• Responsible people are

unlikely to abuse your trust

• They need information to

work strategically

• It must be clear, credible,

coherent, constructive

• Your retreating to silence or

inaccessibility is corrosive

• Hiding or hoarding strategic

information backfires


Communicate for a Change!

In the modern corporation,

leadership without communication is pointless, and

communication without leadership is irrelevant.


Management vs. Leadership
Communication Differs in Substance and Style

Management Leadership

• Seeks compliance with standards • Seeks change and breakthrough

• Content is specific, detailed • Content is broad, general

• “Assign to align” • “On page to engage”

• Stresses accountability • Stresses big opportunity

• Strives to control and influence • Strives to free up and inspire

• Declarative and pessimistic • Aspirational and optimistic

• Worries about failure • Expects success

Differences in communication
reflect difference in purpose.

No pessimist ever discovered Optimism is faith that leads
the secret of the stars, or to achievement. Nothing can
sailed to an uncharted land, or be done without hope and
opened a new doorway for the confidence.
human spirit. Helen Keller


Competency Level

Unconsciously
Competent

Consciously
Competent

Consciously
Incompetent

Unconsciously
Incompetent


Competency Level Communication for Leading Is

Unconsciously Naturally and effortlessly frequent,
Competent candid, respectful, substantive, mutual

Consciously Deliberate, scheduled, structured,
Competent filtered, stressful, forced, scripted

Consciously Impersonal, arbitrary, slow, anxious,
Incompetent legalistic, euphemistic, unreliable

Unconsciously Absent or sporadic; deceitful,
Incompetent insubstantial, confusing, threatening


3.

The Axiom of Choice

Leaders need followers. People decide for

themselves whether to follow any particular

leader—and how fervently and for how long.

The choice is always theirs and theirs alone.


We don‟t usually think of

business as a democracy.

Employees don‟t elect their

management, after all.

But they can and do “elect”

their leaders.


They choose which leaders to

follow and which to ignore.

Thus, they and they alone

decide whether to follow you.

So you must earn the

engagement of your people. You

cannot just assume it.


County Election George Caleb Bingham (1852)

What It Does Not Mean
abdication of authority • manipulation • groveling


Freedom of Speech Norman Rockwell (1943)

What It Does Mean

listening to subordinates • collaboration • campaigning

4.

The Axiom of Connection

Leadership requires a vibrant, resilient connection

between a leader and people. That connection

depends on trust in, respect for, and affinity with

the leader. This trusting connection is everything.


What Word Is Missing Here?
• our fathers brought forth

• now we are engaged in a great
civil war

• we cannot dedicate, we cannot
consecrate, we cannot hallow
this ground

• it is for us the living

• they gave the last full measure
of devotion

• we here highly resolve

• government of the people, by
the people, for the people,
shall not perish from the earth


Map of English Pronouns
Person and Case Singular Plural
First Person Nominative I we
First Person Possessive my or mine our or ours
First Person Objective me us
Second Person Nominative you you

Second Person Possessive your or yours your or yours

Second Person Objective you you

Third Person Nominative he, she, it they

Third Person Possessive his / her or hers / its their or theirs

Third Person Objective him, her, or it them


1. This rope represents the connection
between leaders and followers.
2. My right hand is leadership.
3. My left hand is followership.
4. The direction of change is to my right.
5. As my right hand (leadership) moves
toward my right, what happens?
6. If we switch the direction of change,
and my right hand (still leadership)
moves toward my left, what happens?
7. What is the natural reaction of anyone
who is being pushed?
8. What can you infer from this little
exercise?


If you are working on something exciting
that you really care about, you don‟t have
to be pushed. The vision pulls you.

Steve Jobs

The Practical Limits of Coercion

The trouble with coercive
power is that it only
strengthens resistance.
And, if successful, its
controlling effect only
lasts as long as the force is
strong. It is not organic.

Robert K. Greenleaf
Servant Leadership

Leadership is a reciprocal relationship

between those who choose to lead and

those who decide to follow. . . . If there is

no underlying need for the relationship,

then there is no need for leaders.

James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner
Credibility

What is the underlying need

for this relationship here?

When a relationship is unraveling, the first sign is
worsening communication. People avoid the truth,
cover up the truth, color the truth, and hide the
truth. They resort to shouting and invective.


Conversely, when a relationship is healthy, the
vital signs all have to do with good communication.
The communication is frequent, respectful,
truthful, and appropriate to the relationship.


How is your brain like a tin can?

How are brain waves like string?


You
_______________________

Your capacity to lead rides on the perception
by prospective followers as to the nobility
of your intent and the fact of your connection
to their interests, needs and concerns.

The Optimal Connection Is . . .

• Factual, providing the foundation for focus

• Rational, providing the foundation for curiosity

• Emotional, providing the foundation for passion

• Behavioral, providing the foundation for courage

. . . and you are responsible for it.
(Yes, you.)

Never doubt the ability of a

small group of thoughtful,

committed individuals with a

common purpose to change the

course of history. Indeed, it is

the only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead

5.

The Axiom of Integrity

Communication is much more than the expression or

exchange of information and ideas. It is the wholeness

of thinking, speaking, and acting. It may be inadvertent,

indirect, and implicit, and it is often misinterpreted.


in•teg•ri•ty
in•te•grate
in•te•ger
in•te•gral

[Origin: 1450-1510: late Middle English integrite < Latin integritās:
untouched, hence undivided, whole, oneness]


Saying and Doing have

quarrel‟d and parted.

Benjamin Franklin

The Heart of Your Leadership

Leadership
Your Self

Your Leadership


You are the message.

Roger Ailes

Music is your own experience,

your thoughts, your wisdom. If

you don‟t live it, it won‟t come

out in your horn.

Charlie Parker

Three Voices Must Become One

• Together the voices must

 send consistent messages

 honor the nobility of an organization‟s values

 encourage congruence of behavior with strategy

 facilitate a mutually respectful dialogue with partners

• Otherwise, it‟s a roll of the dice

The formal voice can never operate in a vacuum.

Only

50%
of American employees say their supervisors

give them the information they need

to do their job well.

DG&A

Only

42%
of American employees say their supervisors

keep them informed as to what

is happening elsewhere in the organization.

DG&A

Only

41%
of American employees feel that their supervisors

take action on ideas and concerns

expressed by the people on their team.

DG&A

46%
of workers in the United States say

they cannot discuss issues of workplace ethics

with their boss.

Spherion

Poor communication of

business information by management is the

No. 1
frustration of corporate employees.

Opinion Research

Just what is communication, anyway?

Communication
_______________________

Anything that conveys information
or creates meaning for people


Purpose of Communication
in Business

It Enables Leaders to Lead!

• By conveying vision, principles, goals, strategies

• By teaching people about the business

• By providing reliable data and coherent rationale

• By bringing expectations into line with reality

• By restoring the meaning of work through trust

• By inspiring engagement with a leader‟s vision

Imagine Two Teams Playing Soccer

They are evenly matched except the players on one team know

whose goal is whose, and the players on the other team are

confused as to whose goal is whose.

Which team will win: the team that knows whose goal is
whose, or the team that doesn’t know whose goal is whose?


Strategic
Communication
_______________________

Communication—which, remember, is anything
that conveys information or creates meaning—of,
on, or about business strategy


Safety on the job
Customer satisfaction
Goals and commitments

Production plans, cap ex
Roles and responsibilities
Processes and procedures

Training mandates
Workplace security
Compensation, benefits

Personnel reassignments
Office 2010 training schedule
Employee recreation, hobbies

Strategic Messages Require . . .

• Systematic process to ensure dissemination

• High levels of clarity, credibility, coherence

• Speed, repetition, redundancy, memorability

• Interpretation for application by workers

• Appeal on both factual and emotional wavelengths

• Ultimately, collaboration with workers


Do You See Much of This?

• Stifled, choked flow of upward information

• Tendency for positive spin on negative news

• Departmental isolation and rivalries

• Actions bearing no resemblance to strategy

• Buzzwords or euphemisms obscuring reality

• Hoarding useful information

• Saying one thing but intending to do something else

• Relying on fine print or half-truth to make the numbers


If So, You Will See This . . .

• Little sense of common purpose

• Apathy toward the sincerity of leadership

• Widespread resistance, obstruction to change

• People “going through the motions” or worse

▪ distraction or alienation
Passive or
▪ confusion or denial
Active
▪ apathy or cynicism
Disengagement
▪ neglect or resistance


. . . Instead of This

• Deep commitment to achieving a vision

• Rapid sharing of vital information up, down, across

• Effective response to competitor threats

• Openness to new ideas, change

• Creativity, urgency, alignment, initiative

• Ethically grounded, strategically shrewd decisions


Metamessage
_______________________

A message in the context of its

environment, expectations, and experience:

what people think they hear and see


Prism of the Metamessage

Management’s Employee
Messages Metamessages

• Information • Perceptions
• Strategy Their • Conclusions
• Priorities • Judgments
Environment
Experiences
Expectations

by observation and speculation



Management’s Employee
Messages Metamessages
• Information • Perceptions
• Strategy • Conclusions
• Priorities Their • Judgments

Environment
What You Say What People
Experiences Hear and See
Expectations




What People
What You Said
Remember

Their

Environment
Experiences
Expectations


What We Know

For Sure About

Communication

What We Know for Sure
About Communication
1. Messages count, but metamessages count more

2. Formal, verbal communication alone usually fails

3. Facts that people don‟t know, or are mistaken about, matter most

4. Communication is more than moving information

5. Faster communication is better than slower, but not too fast

6. Dialogue is essential, not optional, and central to meaning

7. Nonverbal communication is critical but more than body language

8. Cascading is tricky, slow, and usually self-defeating


Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face

of a person who with his soul encourages another person to be

brave and true.
Charles Dickens
(1870)

“You’ve Got (More) Email”
• Limit use when conversation and dialogue are easy or necessary

• Do rely on email to:

 Communicate data in detail or simultaneously

 Convey information with immediacy, especially across time zones

 Build and maintain a paper trail when necessary

• Power up the Subject: line with FYI, RSVP, or Action Needed

• Save and re-read messages later before sending (best a whole day)

• Beware lack of emotion, humor, and irony common to conversation

• Avoid routinely sending CYA copies to senior managers


Beware
An Urban Myth!
Albert Mehrabian

Interpersonal communication
supposedly consists of:

• 7% spoken words
• 38% tone of voice
• 55% body language


Implicit Language That Does Count

• Punctuality • Eye contact

• Courage to speak up * • Etiquette

• Temperament • Greeting people *

• Poise under stress • Smile or frown

• Attentiveness • Physical energy

• Courtesies, deference * • Use of profanity *

• Attire, hats, tattoos • Off-color humor *

* Words are secondary to the decision to use them


Multnomah Falls, Oregon by Dan Monnier

The Myth of Cascading


Colorado River south of Lake Powell

The Reality of Cascading


Which of these insights

strike you as the most

powerful or revealing?

Why? What difference can it

make to you?

As Business Changes . . .

• Collapse of the “implied contract” and its benefits

• Good staff jobs increasingly outsourced, even offshored

• Globalization of markets and operations

• Less reliance on organic growth, more M&As

• Explosion of social media, blogging, texting

• Powerful search engines compromise intellectual security

• Nominal use of balanced scorecards, but P&L the big driver

• Broader spans of control undermine traditional management

• Six Sigma, ISO standards raise the bar on expectations


. . . So Must Communication

• Must be an essential, integrated part of any business plan

• Becomes the essential energy of leadership and thus key to change

• Requires fundamental changes in mindset:

 Not just burnishing a reputation, but also leading internal change

 From „owning‟ communication to creating culture of communication

 Involves working with messy, unintentional, implicit messages

• Issue of accountability may be sensitive

• Cascading must yield to rain forests of leadership communication


Wrong Way
Don’t Make These Common Mistakes

• Communication by a single announcement (invisible ink)

• Lack of empathy for other points of view

• Cliché-ridden visions, plastic or boilerplate values

• Oversimplifying, tin ear for nuance and complexity

• Failure to manage implicit communication you already own

• Hoarding information in middle management

• Lack of explanations, context, stories, metrics, metaphors

• No effort to grasp and manage the metamessage


Apply These Tests

• Is it true? Is it real?

• Does it matter? Is it relevant, specific, actionable?

• Is it clear? Does it answer the questions it creates?

• Is it timely? If late, does it explain why?

• Is it participative and inclusive, a dialogue not a monologue?

• Does it reflect your nobility and humanity?

• Does it honor and validate the values you espouse?


Data, Axioms, Principles of Strategic Communication

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