Command and Control 2.0
#CommandAndControl 2.0 is a thought-provoking article recently published in Strategic. It is worth a read.
While agreeing with the vast majority of what’s expressed in the article, I’m keen to add some of my own thoughts to this debate.
Businesses might well be reverting to greater a command and control 2.0 approach, but it is worth emphasising that this doesn’t necessarily mean a return to old-school cascade or a purely top-down approach.
A great example of this is how we approach listening. Increasingly, I position the case for investing in listening, not to improve engagement but more about how we help leaders make better business decisions and how we can improve risk management. The Post Office in the UK and Boeing in the US are powerful current examples of the risks apparent when a business wilfully decides not to listen.
These are hard core business reasons to listen, reasons which directly support improving company performance. We need to take the same approach in everything we do. Marginal gains in engagement just won’t cut it, as Janet and Mike said, “be ruthless or risk being redundant”.
Judging by some of what I read on LinkedIn and elsewhere, it feels to me that some comms professionals appear to be suffering almost a sense of loss, as beliefs are challenged and the more collaborative, engagement-focused direction that we’ve taken for granted for many years seem to be disappearing.
This is important and we can’t just dismiss it. Each of us constantly needs to check that we remain true to ourselves and continue to work in accordance with our personal values, while at the same time making sure the world is not leaving us behind. Being a business partner means remaining relevant, both in how we advise and how we deliver. Perhaps more than ever, that relevance will be in the eye of the leader as much as the audience…though maybe it has always been like that?
One other thing I’ve learnt since leaving ‘big company’ life and starting True Communications two year’s ago is not to underestimate the breadth of how companies consider internal communicators. It is certainly not one size fits all.
While we often think about the relatively few huge, global enterprises (who maybe have the different challenge of employing too many communicators) there are many more businesses who are relatively early in their journey.
Here often we see typically small teams desperately trying to keep their proverbial heads above water, dealing with the non-stop pressures of keeping their bosses happy through content creation and feeding channels, leaving them without the time to do other potentially high value things they may wish to do.
In some respects, the challenge hasn’t changed. It is to be relevant. To inspire and connect with our audiences, to look for ways to educate leaders in the power of how we can support them. It just seems more urgent now.
So, let’s not default to another intranet upgrade thinking another shiny new tool is the answer; or more head and shoulders videos of men in suits talking in a language few understand, thinking we need more content or supporting another survey that everyone knows won’t lead to any meaningful action. Instead, let’s get familiar with the language of change, the journey the company is on and the ways that our skills deliver real value that helps the company get there quicker and be more successful.
The more we do that, the more we will hardwire the importance of what we do and then the more we will take our place as a key part of the emerging business environment.
