How should the adaptive leadership toolkit be communicated to the organization's leadership to help
gain buy-in?
The most important part of the adaptive leadership toolkit will be buy-in from the top down. However,
gaining buy-in from the organization's leadership level is perhaps the greatest challenge. The C-Suite
leadership has very busy schedules. To the point, communication is the best avenue for senior
leadership. Senior Leadership does not read long emails and skims through any newsletter put on
their desk. The toolkit should be communicated with a ¨What, When, Who and How to the Why¨
approach (Jakubiec, 2019). This approach is to the point, but gives the why to the leadership of the
organization. This approach must highlight the negative trend within the organization. Upper
management consists of very successful individuals who feel they already have this leadership thing
figured out. The concise communication must sell the idea that the organization has a problem. Then
the ¨Why¨ must relate the Employee satisfaction survey to profits and overall success of the
organization. For the middle management in the organization's leadership structure, the use of a
Newsletter via Email could be an effective way of continuous communication in regards to the
Adaptive Leadership Toolkit. The adaptive toolkit should be forced into quarterly review of
supervisors, forcing supervisors to put consideration in how they utilize the toolkit.
How can you ensure this communication strategy is sustainable long-term, more than two years? f
The newsletter approach coupled with quarterly review input and town hall like meetings with middle
management and employees will be important to keep the adaptive leadership toolkit as a topic of
discussion. This company does not have a vision issue, employees showed in their satisfaction survey
that they believe in the organization. Therefore, to have sustained success with the adaptive tool kit,
upper management will have to be invested into the toolkit as well.
As previously mentioned, upper management, whether true or not, believe they have the leadership
thing figured out. A quick brief from the Director of Leadership to them, only makes them feel as if we
are putting a toolkit into place for our employees but that it does not apply to their leadership styles.
The best way to get involvement from the upper-level management is having a good feedback
mechanism. ¨Feedback is the means through which the sender can ascertain the extent to which
messages have been successfully received and the impact that they had on recipients¨ (Jakubiec,
2019). This call-to-action approach in communication is needed to capture interest from leadership
who more than likely have large Egos. Asking for their input on changes to the Leadership toolkit,
engages them into the discussion, draws their interest into reading the established toolkit, and allows
them to provide valuable feedback. If these leaders feel they have given input, they will be invested in
the success of the toolkit. Their investment into the toolkit will have an impact on the entire
organization.
How should the adaptive leadership toolkit be communicated to the organization's leadership to help
gain buy-in?
To gain the buy-in of the organization's leadership team, the adaptive leadership toolkit should be
introduced or communicated as an organizational priority. Some organizations host large-scale, in-
person conventions, while others host smaller town hall meetings. In more recent years, company-
wide webinars, both live and pre-recorded, have been used to communicate new organizational goals.
For a long-term objective like the leadership toolkit, a live event is a reasonable delivery method. With
a live event, you get real-time feedback while enjoying the opportunity to motivate your team around
the objective. A demonstration session is also a benefit of an in-person event. The organization's
leadership team should be provided with detailed literature that explains what the toolkit is, answers
some basic questions about why the toolkit is being utilized and spells out some metrics for success.
These actions should take place well in advance of the live event to give participants time to review it.
How can you ensure this communication strategy is sustainable long-term, more than two years? f
This method will have longevity as it will always be viewed as a major event for the company. An
annual live event and periodic, but regular, typewritten updates will help to keep the toolkit at the
forefront of the long list of company objectives. If the messaging about the toolkit is allowed to
dwindle, so will the awareness of its importance. Ensuring that both new and current employees are
aware of the toolkit project will also help to sustain the life of the project.
How should the adaptive leadership toolkit be communicated to the organization's leadership to help
gain buy-in?
For an organization to gain buy-in when implementing and adaptive leadership toolkit, the
organization must first create a vision. When a large organization creates a vision, it shows they are in
it for long term success of the establishment. This is also where create a plan and motivate
stakeholders. To help see the vision take shape, the organization should use a SMART goal plan. Using
the SMART criteria, the organization must first define Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and
Timely goals to achieve buy-in of the adaptive leadership toolkit. The organization then needs to
define what type of leadership style they are looking for. For example: does the organization want a
leader who possesses integrity, communication, and trustworthiness? Or, does the organization want
leader who is Type A and is quite the opposite? The individual employee morale, productivity, and
retention leadership style are essential to be a fair leader. When a person takes on the role of a leader
within an organization, it takes time for the leader to grow and become more refined as time goes on.
Using the SMART goal plan is crucial when implementing new ideas, projects, or an adaptive
leadership toolkit because all employees are not the same and different departments or organizations
have different needs. Lastly, an organization must know who the stakeholders will be through the
entire process, all parties must be involved, and the organization must be open to receiving feedback
about what works and does not work.
How can you ensure this communication strategy is sustainable long-term, more than two years? f
I can ensure the communication strategy is sustainable for more than two years by updating and
changing the adaptable toolkit as the business grows. What worked before might not work in the
future, and it is always a positive to be open. When changes are made, the stakeholders need to make
sure that the changes are for the good of everyone and not just a few individual people. With,
stakeholders should make specific goals or improvements that are achievable yet challenging. The
organization needs to make sure that all current and future leaders understand their roles and entail.
This is usually accomplished through the onboarding process, followed by training and development.
When leaders have the tools, they need to succeed, the organization will succeed.
How should the adaptive leadership toolkit be communicated to the organization's leadership to help
gain buy-in?
When discussing how to get the leadership of the organization to buy into the toolkit, it is important to
understand the need for the organization to commit to the goal. In this instance, the organization has
a large need to invest in building the leadership capabilities of the managers in the organization. The
leadership has been identified as one of the 'gaps' after looking at the employee survey. Many of the
line items related to either the skills of the leadership or how the leadership was viewed. It is
important to note and communicate that this is how the employees are feeling about the current
state. The top-level management need to ultimately recognize that there is a need for improvement
and communicate down that this is a priority to help the organization in the long term.
How can you ensure this communication strategy is sustainable long-term, more than two years? f
After achieving the buy in from the leadership, the next issue of maintaining the support and ensuring
that the progress is not lost is the next discussion. I believe that by continuing the annual surveys as
well as instituting a method of feedback on the program, this will ensure that we are both receiving
valuable input and making the changes we need appropriately. The future surveys will hopefully show
a positive trend in the areas we chose to focus on, and the feedback will help us notate areas in which
we can adjust the program to better fit the needs of our employees.
How should the adaptive leadership toolkit be communicated to the organization's leadership to help
gain buy-in?
The first step that should be shared with leadership is an email to set the stage as to what the adaptive
leadership toolkit is and they why this is something that should be considered. An effective method
would be to find one leader in addition to yourself that could be a champion of the idea, but it is
important leadership is not surprised. After leadership is aware of the toolkit, an executive meeting
should be set to discuss how it came to be and then have the case laid our using data as to why it is
needed. One of the most effective tools I have used in my past when presenting ideas to executives is
by illustrating my idea via stories but using visuals. Lastly, it is important to present the measurables
we will use and the impact we are trying to make as those are the most important way to know
whether the toolkit is working.
How can you ensure this communication strategy is sustainable long-term, more than two years?
The single most important thing is to have a clear goal going in and setting realistic expectations. One
of the biggest issues that could be made is lack of vision and constantly changing course as it could
create an issue with the overall goal and damage its reputation. Being consistent with bi-annual
updates tracking preliminary progress to the executive team can keep them engaged. Between the
semi-annual progress reports simple feedback from existing workers delivered via email to the team
can keep them interested in supporting the plans for more than two years.
How should the adaptive leadership toolkit be communicated to the organization's leadership to help
gain buy-in?
First, the need for a toolkit must be presented to the leadership team to gain buy-in. Utilizing the
employee survey data is crucial in providing an answer to the question “why do we need this” and
“why now.”
Demonstrating the survey data, from both the positive and negative feedback will ensure that buy-in
from the individual leaders is secured in a formal fashion (Jakubiec 2019). f I believe that the adaptive
leadership toolkit should be communicated in multiple formats to the organizations leadership to gain
buy-in.
Assuming, as with all corporations, there is a leadership council and/or committee. The
communication plan for the toolkit distribution should be presented here for final leadership
approval, with all organizational leaders having knowledge and agreement of not only the toolkit, but
the communication plan itself. Email from highest ranking leader and/or leader in charge of the
toolkit development and communications of such to all leadership provides
How can you ensure this communication strategy is sustainable long-term, more than two years?
Sustainability over a 2-year period can be centered on a regressive timeline.
First off, if the organization’s top-brass were so inclined to ensure the improvement of staff via the
toolkit that they would tie it to a performance goal in year-two – which would come from an employee
survey specifically focused on the toolkit.
The regressive timeline would outline quarterly reminders via email to all leadership within the
organization regarding the toolkit and its impact on individual and department goals.
In addition, all departmental leaders should have ultimate accountability and responsibility to ensure
that the communications are received and absorbed by the respective teams ensuring full use and
complement of the toolkit.
A steering committee should also be developed to ensure periodic review of the implementation of
the toolkit, which would include adapting communications to ensure compliance with the new
program.
How should the adaptive leadership toolkit be communicated to the organization's leadership to help
gain buy-in?
Creating excitement regarding the leadership toolkit could take several strategies of communication:
There needs to be written documentation and an oral introduction to the leadership tool kit. A
pamphlet or PowerPoint could be used to lay out the plan in a user-friendly and digestible manner.
A town hall meeting or meetings of smaller groups where the process can be discussed in an open
forum allowing for questions and answers to be addressed will also be crucial to its success.
The leadership team may feel a negative focus at the start. It will be essential to maintain an open
dialogue with varied approaches to limit the negative connotations and enhance the positive
exchange the toolkit will promote.
If there is conflict through the process, it may be necessary to develop an indirect communication
approach, at least to start.
If someone gets negative feedback and is upset, pinpointing and providing direct unfiltered references
may seem like you are imposing the negativity on them, doubling down on it. However, if you have an
indirect approach, you will be able to have a little discretion to soften the blow and allow the leader to
move past the negative moment.
Management will need to utilize the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership. If the company wants
leadership to improve its approach, it will need to see they are not the only ones stepping up. As the
initiative rolls out, Model the Way, inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to
Act, and Encourage the Heart will aid in communicating. The toolkit is a recipe for bettering the
relationships between leaders and their employees; it will require many ingredients to build a better
foundation. As leaders see examples of what is expected, they will begin to absorb those approaches.
For example, if you went into a staff meeting every week for a year and recorded the calls, you would
hear someone use a phrase or express an ideology in a specific manner. Throughout the year, you will
begin to listen to others utilize the exact phrasing and approach; what works and empowers is
infectious.
The company will have to set a tone that communicates what it wants to see in a positive and
empowering manner if they wish leadership to buy in and mirror the correct approach. Building hype
will require someone to ramp up the enthusiasm; it could be one person or many people. There will be
a need for some sense of marketing in communicating the vision. Flashy, engaging, to the point
marketing. Again, it could be as simple as an email, but it must grab the leadership's attention. It will
be essential to communicate with direct interaction. The emails and documentation walking through
the process and hyping it up will support the cause. Still, the priority for communication must be in
engaging directly in providing scope and direction of the initiative in plain language with little room for
interpretation.
The employees below leadership do not feel heard, acknowledged, or valued. This toolkit is expected
to show leadership how to engage with their employees. It will be crucial that management does not
disengage from leadership throughout this process. The toolkit promotes accountability, which could
result in negative impacts. However, the communications should focus primarily on positivity. Fear-
based and negative leading seldom ends well.
How can you ensure this communication strategy is sustainable long-term, more than two years?
As leadership engages in the practices found within the toolkit, it will be essential to allow for the
growth of leadership and the growth of the process. As the toolkit is being produced, there are set
goals in mind that are pivotal to improving the employee experience, improving leaderships
communication, and fostering an organization with values consistent with the mission and value
statements of the company. The first year has a predetermined set of standards and metrics listed in
the toolkit. When the first year has been completed, updating the benchmarks and metrics may be
necessary to focus on portions of the business/approach that require more work and possibly
introduce new tasks. Constantly enhancing the process will promote continued engagement because
it will not be the same focus every year. It will also allow an opportunity to have leadership provide
insight into the portions of the toolkit that spoke to them the most, what they felt were the most
significant challenges functionally, and discuss what they might like to see in future toolkits. f
References
Jakubiec, M. (2019). The Importance of Internal Communication for Management of an Organisation.
SILESIAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY PUBLISHING HOUSE. https://eds-p-ebscohost-
com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=83fb9f84-e608-4201-92cd-
48c0284d0168%40redis
