When looking at how to communicate the adaptive leadership toolkit so the organization's leadership
buy-in to it, there are a couple of different ways that one can go about it. The first thing that should
be done is to get some feedback from the executives or top leaders of the organization. Without their
support, the imitative will not be very successful because they are the ones that help implement it., In
addition, I have found that doing a quick summary in an email followed up with more information is a
great way to communicate it due to the busyness of many people. A short summary allows for more
people to get interested in it with the basic information. The executives have some sort of incentive
program or have them be the ones to roll out the adaptive leadership toolkit because people tend to
listen to others that are higher up in command. Finally, having constant reminders, such as trainings
and emails, are also helpful in keeping the toolkit in the forefront of everyone's minds.
This communication strategy can be sustainable long-term by implementing a training program that
has a check in with everyone more than once a year, perhaps every quarter or 6 months. Once this
program is set up, it is just down to a matter of implementing it and carrying it out consistently. In
addition, having small check ins push people to think about the toolkit more often as well as not
overburdening them with so much information at one time. People lose interest when they get
overwhelmed, so keeping it short and simple will be key to the success of the adaptive leadership
toolkit initiative.
How should the adaptive leadership toolkit be communicated to the organization's leadership to help
gain buy-in?
Leadership communication is one of the most important factors that influence business success. It
directly impacts the organization's vision, mission, and ability to embrace change. Also, it has a clear
and critical impact on the organization's bottom line. (smarp 2021).
The organization can communicate the adaptive leadership toolkit to leadership through various
internal channels such as:
Executive Team meetings – the organization can use this medium to update leaders on the adaptive
leadership toolkit, changes, new policies, preparing for a disaster or another financial period. This can
be face-to-face meetings at a conference room or a virtual zoom meeting in which leaders can
regularly share ideas, feedback, and voice their opinions.
Formal Communication – the organization can get the adaptive leadership toolkit message out by
email to provide a written record to the leaders. Like some organizations, executive communication is
grouped in listservs, making sending emails to the leaders across departments easier. This is useful
because it provides clarity and sometimes requires follow-up actions.
Leadership/Executive Townhall Webinar – the organization can host a townhall to elaborate on the
adaptive leadership toolkit. Leaders would have the ability to understand the process and approach
of the organization to build out the leadership toolkit and engage in Q and A's.
Intranet service platform – the organization can create an internal portal to showcase the adaptive
leadership toolkit and help employees stay updated. Other platforms include Microsoft SharePoint
and Slack, which I find helpful in my workplace.
Communicating the adaptive leadership toolkit would allow leaders to feel confident that the
organization values them, set the right course, and commit to making it a great workplace, increasing
engagement. The organization can use an employee engagement strategy approach to gain
leadership buy-in.
How can you ensure this communication strategy is sustainable long-term, more than two years?
Communication plays a vital role in any sustainable plan or strategy, both internally and externally.
With the rollout of the adaptive leadership toolkit, people will need to express themselves internally
within the organization. Using the communication strategy to create a culture where communication
initiatives are very much tied to the overarching goals for the adaptive leadership toolkit and
employee engagement can be sustainable long-term.
How should the adaptive leadership toolkit be communicated to the organization’s leadership to help
gain buy-in?
The adaptive leadership toolkit should be communicated formally to the organization’s leadership.
Jakubiec (2019) establishes that effective internal communication should be transactional and
symbolic, meaning that there should be two or more people involved and it should represent a
message between those two people. Formal communications would be considered face-to-face
meetings, such as staff meetings, and email communications. These two ways of communicating
would help gain buy-in because the company will be trying to implement all aspects of the adaptive
leadership toolkit. Staff meetings allow everyone in the organization to meet with each other and
train on the identified areas of weakness. Email communication, while not as effective as staff
meetings, would allow the company to provide updates to training in between staff meetings. My job
currently sends information through email that is necessary to everyday work but that cannot wait
until the next staff meeting. By utilizing these two forms of communication, the organization will have
more buy-in for the adaptive leadership toolkit, as the leaders will know what is exactly expected of
them and how they can gain the identified skills going forward.
How can you ensure this communication strategy is sustainable long-term, more than two years?
This communication strategy will be sustainable long-term as organizations will always need to
conduct staff meetings, and emails can be sent easily and quickly to leaders or staff in regards to
information that cannot wait until the next staff meeting. In my experience, staff meetings allow the
company to have everyone together to make sure they are trained on the same material at the same
time. Figliuolo (2016) suggests that thinking through every aspect of the staff meeting will make it
more effective and will make sure the meeting stays to what needs to be discussed. By utilizing this
idea, the organization’s leadership can make sure each staff meeting is only tackling concerns and
training that needs to be done at that very moment. Emails, which everyone uses nearly every day,
can be used to tackle any other concerns or training materials that cannot wait until the next staff
meeting or do not need to be discussed at that time.
