Leadership Communication 1o1: How to Make Sure Your Messages Stick

How much time do you spend communicating with the other people in your organization? Chances are, it’s not enough. Megan Murphy, VP of Product at Hotjar, told the MTP Engage Leadership Forum that she spends 50% of her time on internal communication. This was such an important tidbit that I called it out as a key learning in my blog recap of the event.

Communication is one of those tricky skills. Since we all do it all the time, we tend to think we’re much better at it than we actually are.

But there’s often a gap between the way we view ourselves as communicators and the way our teams view us. Here are a few of the most common communication problems I see in product organizations.

It's easy to tell a good story that unites a group of people if you address essential needs like hunger ("Let's kill the mammoth to have food"). However, having a similar effect in today's business context needs better storytelling skills and some planning.

Problem #1: Communication is perceived as one-way

Communication is rarely one way, but it is often perceived that way. So, a product leader will present the latest strategy, then expect people to embrace and execute it. When this happens, alignment is missing and buy-in is not there.

Problem #2: Communication is overly formal

Many organizations do not allow sufficient time for personal, non-targeted communication. We focus on delivering messages or working through problems and don’t prioritize informal chit chat, even though this is important for creating connections and a sense of community.

Problem #3: There’s not enough communication

We might think we’ve shared information so many times that it’s ridiculous to share it again. But, as Jeff Weiner, Executive Chairman of LinkedIn, puts it, “When you are tired of saying it, people are starting to hear it.”

In fact, research shows that repetition creates familiarity, which leads to preference. In other words, the more times we hear a message repeated, the more we tend to like it and act on it. But there is a catch. The ideal number of times of repeating a message falls between 10 and 20. If you exceed this number, you risk turning a preference into a dislike.

What to do instead

Now that we know what NOT to do when it comes to communication, what are some things we should do instead? Here are a few of my pointers.

Give everyone a chance to share their views

Please make sure your communication isn’t just one way—that you always encourage feedback. It might even be a good idea to plan these sessions deliberately. Let me give an example: You know you will start working on a revised version of your product strategy soon. Start this process by asking stakeholders how much they would like to be involved and when their contribution makes the most sense. Then plan accordingly.

Encourage informal conversation

Make sure that you are spending time casually talking with your people and enjoying yourselves. Get to know what’s going on with your team members outside of work. What’s going on with their family? What are their hobbies and interests?

Communicate multiple times, in various formats

Overcommunication needs to happen more, not less. Former Ford CEO Alan Mulally is widely credited with turning around an organization that was in deep trouble. Mulally communicated the company’s plan often, and in a variety of different ways—in every executive team meeting, having special wallet cards printed and given to every Ford employee, talking about it to the press, and much more. According to Bryce Hoffman, a reporter at the time for The Detroit News, “After six months, those of us who followed the company had gotten sick of hearing about them.” Mulally overcommunicated the plan, but everyone knew what it was.

I like to walk my coachees through the illustration below, highlighting that it is necessary to be able to share a message in a written, spoken, and illustrated form, in various settings (talking to many people like in a company all hands, some people like a sprint planning session, or to one single person) and in various ways. And don't forget about asynchronous sharing like Slack messages and recordings of your latest talk.

So, if the big goal has not yet been reached, don’t stop talking about the plan until it has. Mention it one more time, and once more after that.

Try using this checklist

The Effective Communications Checklist can help you consider the best approach to communicating.

What

Is your message accurate and complete?
Is your message well structured?
Is your message necessary? (Don’t contribute to the noise!)
Is your message clear and concise?

How

Are you using the appropriate method for communication? (synchronous/asynchronous, the right tool, in person, call, mail, chat, etc.)
Is your attitude positive? Are your body language and tone of voice positive?
Are you engaged in active listening? (paraphrasing, summarizing the outcome of the exchange, asking questions, etc.)
Are you open-minded, considering another perspective?
Are you engaged, fully present, not withdrawn, not multitasking?
Are you assertive but not aggressive?
Can you remember to not make it personal?

Why

Are you clear on what you are trying to accomplish?
Do you have the end result in mind?

Who

Are you communicating with the right person/people?
Are you including all the right people?
Are you including only the right people?

When

Is your communication timely? (lack of delays)
Is it a good time for the party you are communicating with?
Is the duration of the discussion/length of email/etc. tailored to the importance of the situation?

Where

Are you communicating in a place appropriate for the message and subject matter? (security, privacy considerations, etc.)

Finally, I have to mention that you need to think about how to communicate your message in a way that inspires people to act. As a product leader, effective communication can help you rally your team around a shared strategy, convince executives of your vision, and motivate people when morale is low. But this isn’t a skill that comes naturally to everyone. So if this is a concept you’d like to explore further, be sure to check out my resources on storytelling.