Building Leadership/Line Management Communication Capability

Allman Communication Workshop29th April 2009

Agenda

Introductions & desired outcomes

Theory: The three Cs of employee communication & the importance of leadership/line management communication

Session One: Changing Communication Style

Session Two: Adopting a Coaching Leadership Style

Wrap up

Networking lunch

2.00pm Close

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Lesley Allman, MD, Allman Communication

Over 20 years of internal & external corporate communication experience

Director of Communication at Coors Brewers (formerly Bass) and previously a Board Director of Rote PR (part of Shandwick plc)

BSc in Management and MBA (2002) including dissertation on employee engagement

CIPR member and frequent communication conference speaker

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Angela Cassidy, Associate, Allman Communication

A specialist in change and leadership communication

Extensive experience of developing and implementing leadership and management programmes to deliver behavioural change and achieve business goals

Senior Communication Consultant at LloydsTSB, advising on managing change and developing the skills and knowledge of leaders

Accredited coach (via Barefoot Coaching and University of Chester)

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Allman Communication clients

Our awards

Class Winner in CiB Central Awards 2009 – Best Agency

Finalist in CIPR Excellence 2008 – Outstanding Small Consultancy

Finalist in PR Week Awards 2008 – New Consultancy of The Year

Class Winner in CiB Central Awards 2008 – Strategy: Merger & Change

Silver Award in CIPR Pride Awards 2008 – Outstanding Small Consultancy

Finalist in CIPR Pride Awards 2008 – Internal Communication

The three Cs of employee communication

Channel

i.e. Format of comms

Content

i.e. Messages & Materials

Capability

i.e. Skills &

Behaviours

WHATWHERE

HOW

How would you rate the communication performance of line managers in your organisation?

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

good/verygood

poor/verypoor

Those who measure

Those who don'tmeasure

Source: Melcrum

Have you defined communication competencies for managers?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

yes no don'tknow

Large CompanyData

Source: Melcrum

When you track communication performance of managers, what are you measuring?

Only one in five respondents were actually measuring the communication performance of managers

Of those who measured, top three most common measures were:

» 70% changes in employee satisfaction» 59% 360 degree feedback» 54% changes to employee’s understanding of the

business strategy/goals

Source: Melcrum

Have you implemented communication training for managers in your organisation?

Training i.e. formal education or coaching» 54% don’t offer any communication training to

managers» Of those who do train, 34% train senior, middle and

front line managers » Training tools tend to be tactical e.g. presentation

skills

Tools i.e. “spoon feeding” managers with tools, models, templates etc. to help them to deliver more effective briefings or day to day communication

» 73% use communication toolkits

Source: Melcrum

Rewarding & recognising effective communication

“Our greatest problem is that we all agree line manager communication needs attention, but no one will support it with

rewards or consequences. Without the necessary reinforcement, our efforts to improve the front line managers’ communication

skills are somewhat futile”

Barriers to rewarding & recognising communication performance in managers include:

» Lack of method to measure communication performance (32%)

» Company culture does not consider comms to be a core competency for line managers (32%)

» Lack of senior management buy in (25%)» Lack of funds (7%)

Source: Melcrum

Trust in management communication

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

NationalNorm

SeniorManagement

Over 15 yrsservice

UK

USA

Source: Mercer

Session one: changing communication style

Agenda:

» Who has responsibility for employee engagement?» Leadership communication skills» Focus on Listening Actively and Managing Conflict» Tools and techniques to develop a coaching style

Introducing SMILE – communication skills model

© Angela Cassidy 2008

Showing appreciation

Managing conflict

Involving everyone

Listening actively

Engaging people

The 5 levels of listening – Stephen Covey

Empathic

Attentive

Pretending

Not listening

Selective

Within the other’s frame of reference

Within one’s own frame of reference

Source: ‘The 7 habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

The thinking environment – Nancy Kline

The nine guidelines to a successful meeting

» At the beginning:› Give everyone a turn to speak › Ask everyone to say what is going well in their work (or the

group’s work)» Throughout the meeting:

› Give attention without interruption during open and even fiery discussion

› Ask incisive questions to reveal and remove assumptions that are limiting ideas

› Divide into ‘Thinking Partnerships’ when thinking stalls › Intermittently give everyone a turn to say what they think› Permit the sharing of truth and information› Permit the expression of feelings

» At the end:› Ask everyone what went well in the meeting and what they

respect in each otherSource: ‘Time to Think – Listening to Ignite the Human Mind by Nancy Kline

Thinking partnerships

Spend five minutes telling your partner about your latest work project or favourite pastime

The listening partner should:» Say nothing and not interrupt in any way» Maintain eye contact at all times» Occasionally smile or nod to show you are listening

actively Swap roles after five minutes

Managing conflict

The Change Equation:» Dissatisfaction» Vision» Steps or Skills» Must be greater than the Resistance to Change

D x V x S > RC

Manager’s assumptions

Example case study:» Departmental merger of Marketing & Communications and

Sales teams in a large book publisher and retailer» Currently both teams are in different locations and will

move to head office as one» Reduction in job functions» New Board Director to be appointed to lead new

department» More efficient, centralised processes to be introduced» Reorganisation to be completed within six months

What assumptions might a Senior Manager in either team be making about their people?

What questions could he or she be asking of their direct reports?

Questioning techniques

Closed» Results in a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer

Leading» Results in closing down the discussion

Open» Results in broader thinking, new ideas and solutions

Probing» Results in greater understanding for all involved

Implication» Results in challenges to own thinking and more

options Opening ‘Mindsets’

» Results in enabling people to reassess the facts

Session Two: Adopting a coaching leadership style

Agenda:

» What is a coaching leadership style?» Coaching culture and employee engagement» Benefits and pitfalls of this approach» Ways to introduce this into an organisation

Situational leadership model

SUPPORTIVE

High SupportiveLow Directive

SUPPORTING

High DirectiveHigh Supportive

COACHING

Low SupportiveLow Directive

DELEGATING

High DirectiveLow Supportive

DIRECTING

DIRECTIVE behaviour

What is a coaching leadership style

Spend a few minutes thinking about:

» What does a coaching leadership style mean to you?» What is a leader doing or saying or thinking

when they use this style?

Coaching principles

As coaches, we assume that:

» Everyone is doing their best» Everyone has the resources within them to make

changes or do things differently» Everyone creates their own reality» Everyone has the answers within them» We work with the attitude that things are possible

A coaching culture is where ….

Everyone believes learning is critical Leaders use a coaching style/set the tone Decision-making is devolved Developing others is seen as key management

responsibility Peers coach each other Having a mentor or coach is viewed positively Coaching is linked to business drivers Being coached is encouraged Providing coach training is critical Coaching behaviours are rewarded and recognised The move to coaching is managed and with a

systematic perspective

Benefits v. pitfalls

Benefits» Greater employee engagement in business plans» Greater creativity and innovation from employees» Greater sense of empowerment» Greater communication between individuals, within teams,

across business» Greater employee retention

Pitfalls» Performance management may become a longer/slower

process» Not everyone finds the new style easy to adopt / buys into it» Top team do not ‘walk the talk’» Operational priorities can get in the way and managers go

back to old habits

Ways to introduce a coaching culture

Ensure it supports and is critical to achieving strategic business goals

Reflected in the mission, vision and values statements Need is identified in employee opinion research Top team champion the introduction of the new culture Performance management system uses a coaching

approach Management training re coaching skills is provided Conferences, away-days, team meetings all use coaching

sessions New style is reflected in all cross-business media If not organisation-wide at first, then in pockets that

spread

Adopting a coaching culture

In pairs, spend ten minutes discussing:

» What benefits would/does this have to you, your team and/or your organisation

» What is your role as coach in this situation?

Wrap up

Summary Any Questions

What does good look like?

Two way dialogue on topics employee finds meaningful Regular and constructive performance feedback Involves employees in decisions that affect them Recognises employee contribution Discusses career & professional development Receptive to ideas & suggestions Holds salary discussions and gives fair reward

What does good look like ?

Buys into and briefs company wide programmes Updates staff on news from other parts of the business Delivers key corporate messages Translates corporate strategy into meaningful actions for

team & individuals Elicits feedback and shares it with senior team+ The day job!

Communication competencies

Competency Behavioural Examples

Business Acumen/Insight

Connects company strategy to marketplace events Aligns work unit goals to company strategy Defines individual performance objectives & metrics

Feedback & Coaching

Spots opportunities to enhance employee performance Links contribution to rewards Prepares people for future assignments

Listening &understanding

Stays focussed on the speaker Understands speaker position before reacting Probe to determine the root cause of problems

Speaking/Informing

Uses simple, direct language Matches words to tone & body language Is sensitive to nuance & timing

Wrap up

Sharing learnings & applying to your organisation Top tips Any questions Feedback form

Allman Communicationwww.allmancommunication.com

Contact: Lesley Allman 07808 095803