Disrupting the Status Quo – Part 4

• September 15, 2017

This is the fourth and final article in the series; Disrupting the Status Quo. We have now discussed what the status quo is and why you should disrupt it. We have also gone deeper on the first two steps you will take on your journey to disruption; one change at a time and getting buy in.

The last step, the one we will look at today is communicating status. This is going to take a culture of communication, which is something to consider before you start creating change. Actually it is something to consider regardless of whether you are creating change or running the day-to-day operations of your team or organization.

Imagine taking a road trip that was expected to take three days and not knowing until the end of the three days whether you had gone in the right direction, at the right speed, and with enough resources (gas for instance.) You need to know the status along the way and that status is communicated to you in several ways.

It is communicated through your GPS or map (if you still use one). It’s also communicated through speedometer and gas gauge. Regardless of how well you feel you planned the trip, along the way you need feedback and status in order to reach your final destination.

If you are driving this car and you were not getting this feedback how quickly would you turn around? Your people, those on your team and in your organization are driving the car in this scenario, they are the ones working towards a goal or desired outcome that you initiated. If they think they are headed for danger or don’t know where they are, it won’t take long before they turn the car around and head home for safety. That means it will not take long before you lose their buy in and they start to sabotage the plan. They want what’s safe and normal and they can only get that through communicating status.

Communicating status should be a natural part of a culture of communication. This means that you as the leader are consistently communicating with those who report to you and the entire organization. Whether you make the time to share communication with everyone or you delegate this to your direct reports, what’s important is for you to set the stage for communication and check in to make sure it is making its way down the line. Don’t assume what you tell your team is what they will pass on unless you verify it.

Trust but verify is what I learned years ago as an auditor and it’s true in any endeavor. If you don’t ensure what you said is getting passed along properly you might end up with the end of a very twisted telephone game like you played when you were a kid. The message at the beginning and the message at the end sound nothing alike.

It is your job to keep the headlights on so everyone can see where they are going, to act as the GPS letting them know they are on the right track or if there is a detour ahead, and your job to keep the resources coming (the gas tank full) and ensure they know when they are running low.

In a culture of communication, discussing status is a two way street. You must insist that you are kept abreast of what is happening. If someone sees a roadblock ahead they must make it known and a detour must be identified. If the resources are running out faster than anticipated there must be a way to let you know so you can determine if more resources are available or other ways to reach the destination. It could also be that there is a slow leak in a tire that can be patched if identified soon enough, before the tire blows and needs to be fully replaced. In other words you need to find the root cause of problems as quickly as possible to fix them before they become costly issues that delay your progress and results.

It is as vitally important that you receive this information in a timely way and create a culture where it is not only okay to provide feedback, but required. The good, the bad, and the ugly must have a way of getting back to you, and you need to have a way to communicate it out yourself. If this feels uncomfortable check out the article on Creating a Safety Zone for ideas on how to make this easier and sustainable.

If you are looking for tactics and strategy on communication, reach out to me at sharon@c-suiteresults.com. This is an area I am happy to help with and because there is more information than I couldn’t possibly convey in one article I am happy to discuss specifics with you. For more resources visit www.c-suiteresults.com where you will find articles, podcasts, media, and other resources to help you along your journey. I’ll keep the lights on for you.