Discussion Organizational Communication

How should the adaptive leadership toolkit be communicated to the

organization's leadership to help gain buy-in?

InordertomaketheAdaptiveLeadershipToolkitavaluable

resourcetothecompanyandnotjustanothercompanyartifactthat

livesinahandbooksomewhereitiscriticalthatleadershipatall

levelsbuysintothisorganizationalchange.Irecommenddisseminate

thetoolkitthroughacompanywidetownhallmeetingfollowedbya

seriesofmeetingsbetweenleadersandtheirdirectconstituents.

Thesesmallergatheringswillstartwithexecutiveleadershipand

workitswaydownindividualcontributors.Thiswillallowforsmaller

audiencessothatpeopleareprovidedopportunitiestoaskany

clarifyingquestionsaswellasforthecommunicationdeliveredface

tofacefromeachconstituent’sleader.Eachlevelofleadershipwill

havethebenefitofbeingonthereceivingendofthesemeetings

beforeprovidingtheinformationtotheirteams.Irecommendhaving

ashortperiodoftimebetweeneachroundofthesmallergatherings

withtheintentthateachattendingleadershouldcreatetheirown

personaldevelopmentplancompletewithSMARTgoals.Theseplans

willthenbesharedaseachattendingleaderholdstheirownsmaller

gatherwiththeirdirectreports.

How can you ensure this communication strategy is sustainable

long-term, more than two years?

InthebookLeadershipChallengebyPosnerandKouzes,Anna

Blackburndiscussedherexperiencesustainingalongterm

communicationstrategyatBeaverbrooksthroughregularfocus

groupmeetings(2021).Thesemeetingshelpedsustaincontinuedbuy

infromleadersthroughgatheringfeedbackthatallowedthe

organizationtocontinuallyassessandadjusttheplanasneeded.

Prioritizingtheseself-auditingmeetingscommunicatestoemployees

thatthecompanylistensandvaluestheiropinions.Thisalsoensures

thatexecutiveleadershipsarekeepingclearlinesofcommunication

acrosstheorganizationandcanreacttochangesastheyhappen.

Annafoundagoodbalancebykeepingthesefocusgroupstoabout8

people,witheachgrouptargetingcertainareasandmanagement

levelsofthebusiness(Posner&Kouzes,2021).Thisgaveher

feedbackfrommultipledifferentperspectivesacrosstheentire

company.Anotherwaythattheorganizationcanhelpsustainthe

communicationstrategyisbykeepingleadersaccountabletotheir

SMARTgoals.Asleadersknowthattheywillbeheldaccountablefor

theirgoalstheywilltakemoreownershipofthosegoalsandthey

workrequiredtoattainthosegoals.

References

Posner,J.M.K.A.B.Z.(2021).LeadershipChallenge,6thEditionfor

SouthernNewHampshireUniversity.WileyGlobalEducationUS.

https://wileyplus.vitalsource.com/books/9781119850717