If the last two years have taught us anything at all, it’s that change is indeed constant – just when you thought you had everything down pat, change comes along and gives you a firm face slap.
As we move headlong into 2022, it’s clear that change and uncertainty will continue to rear their tousled heads. As business owners, we need to be able to ride the ups and downs and embrace disruption to ensure minimal effect on our teams and our clients. And, as communications professionals, we need to be supporting our clients to do the same.
The Power of Effective Communication
I’ve been doing this comms thing for a while – I’ve seen the good, the bad, and yes, the ugly (more times than I care to reflect on). What’s been pleasing to see over the last two years is that the power of effective communications has been one of the great lessons learned by company leaders all over the world.
Some leaders have got their messaging bang on, and their brands (and bottom lines) have gone from strength to strength. The best examples are those leaders who communicate from the heart – they recognise that’s the way to drive engagement and effect real change.
Communicate your Purpose
One area that’s often neglected in communicating well is an organisation’s sense of purpose. As business leaders, we need to be considering the ways we manifest our purpose and our values to first our team, then the outside world.
Remember, there’s no one better to communicate your why than you. Start by looking at and redefining your purpose for your employees. Purpose gives people an anchor, a beam of light in an often-murky environment.
According to the New York Times, one of the biggest reasons people resign from jobs is they’ve lost (or never felt) their sense of purpose. People want to work for a company they believe in and people they can trust – so connecting what you do to a higher purpose is a must.
The Winning Combination
I’ve worked with a few companies who think that hanging a jaunty poster of their values or purpose on the front office wall is enough. It’s not. This is where you can practice communicating from the heart. Genuine, authentic and with good intent.
Once you’re comfortable with the positive, then you can move on to delivering the harder things authentically – whether that’s restructuring announcements, product recalls or issues management. And a good comms agency can help (of course).
On the whole, I’m reassured that amongst the volatility we’re experiencing some positive notes. Especially in an area like communications (which clearly floats my 🐐 goat). Resilience, authenticity, clear purpose and great communications – now there’s a great combination.
Come at us 2022 – we’ve got this.