Does leading an orchestra in Brahms improve your leadership and communication skills? The Music Paradigm of Chicago thinks so, and for somewhere between $30,000 and $60,000, your organization can find out for itself.
“It’s not just entertainment, it’s very effective in terms of moving the organization and getting it to communicate more internally,” [program leader] Nierenberg said.
We’re not sold, but draw your own conclusions. Read about it here, and visit the Paradigm here (be warned … a complex Flash intro awaits you at the Paradigm’s home page).
… those of you interested in internal and external branding may want to visit NASA’s new website. Consider their design choice in light of their recent difficulties, and note the inclusion of the organization’s mission.
We posted in March, and again in May, about how the Columbia inquiry at NASA was suggesting that poor internal communication was a central element in the sequence of events leading up to the disaster. The inquiry board has recently released their report, and they confirm that internal communication was indeed a failure point. According to CBS News:
Members of the board also found that communication was stifled in NASA and that the safety program often was “silent” because engineers with safety concerns were intimidated into silence.
That makes poor communication at NASA a cultural issue, and the commission’s assessment should be case study reading for all leaders and internal communication professionals. You may find the Columbia Accident Investigation Board’s report here.
Streaming media? What’s that?
bq. Streaming media technology enables the real time or on demand distribution of audio, video, and multimedia on the Internet. Streaming media is the simultaneous transfer of digital media (video, voice, and data) so that it is received as a continuous real-time stream.” (from streamingmedia.com)
So, it’s a webcast.
As first blush, most see this as an expensive alternative to traditional mediums (and often times, more cumbersome). Streaming media, however, is becoming more affordable, more user-friendly, and easier to use with the expansion of IT infrastructures and the increase in electronic access at home and work. And since streaming media allows companies to reach employees, customers, investors, and the news media, there’s the potential to share the cost with other departments.
It seems that in the near future most companies–especially nationwide and global companies–will implement this technology. So, to help demystify the concept, we’ve found a few websites to help you become smarter on the subject…
Read the rest of this entry »
This article at Richmond.com cites a Penna Sanders & Sidney survey with some striking findings: in the UK, a third of employees surveyed began actively looking for a job as soon as they started working for a company, and seven out of 10 said they are always looking for a better opportunity.
The good news: effective internal communication is central to employee retention, and to “creating an environment in which they [employees] feel they can achieve their ambitions without the need to move on.”
We couldn’t agree more; all companies have a relationship with each employee, and the formal and informal (read: leadership decisions) messages from leadership are the fabric from which those relationships are woven. Effective organizations craft those relationships strategically; ineffective organizations allow those relationships to evolve beyond their influence.
This article in the UK’s Guardian is preaching to our choir–we offer similar advice daily–but it’s worth reading nonetheless (or in the least, forwarding to some of those in your company who need to hear the advice therein more than once). A highlight:
Integrate: “Many companies don’t have a strategy,” says Jeremy Sice, managing director of SAS Design. “They tend to do a series of ad hoc projects in a reactive way, and don’t follow through on the expectations they set.” Make sure therefore that anything new you introduce or talk about should be part of a bigger picture. So you need to know what the big picture is yourself. Then be clear, concise and open with everyone else. It’s easier said than done …
… Avoid patronising people at all costs and admit that you’ve been bad at certain things in the past and want to be better. “Jollying people along is on the wane,” says Chris Cleaver. “And don’t be too positive, particularly if people are feeling aggrieved,” he adds. Redundancies, general job insecurity and high stress levels will mean that people aren’t necessarily going to think: ‘Yippee, an email postcard from the chief exec written on the beach outside his third home in the Maldives telling us that it’s been a difficult year but that we should keep up the good work.’
A recent article in Communication Quarterly (CITE(Vol. 51 No 1 Winter 2003, Pages 101-110)) presents research examining the relationship between communication apprehension, shyness and communication quality for supervisors. Aren’t communication and apprehension the same? Not according to communication scholars, who define communication apprehension as
an individual’s level of fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons.
Shyness, however, is
the behavior of not talking … the actual frequency of a person talking … and not a person’s preference toward communication or a person’s anxiety about communication.
In the study, the researchers learned that direct reports of communication-apprehensive supervisors see those supervisors as significantly less credible, less likeable, and has having a significantly less favorable general affect. Shy supervisors, however, were not seen this way.
Why it matters: It’s a common misconception that shy leaders are less able to effectively manage or motivate employees. This research, however, suggests that shyness really isn’t the issue: apprehensiveness or anxiety about communicating is, and while apprehensive supervisors may appear shy, not all introverted supervisors are apprehensive.
The consequence: There is much organizations can do to help communication-apprehensive supervisors overcome their anxiety. Common approaches include training, coaching, or education, but the end result should be the same: address the anxiety, not the personality.
