Chapter 11: Leadership through Strategic Internal Communication

Chapter 11: Leadership through Strategic Internal Communication

This chapter focuses on establishing leadership through communicating effectively with an organization’s internal audiences. It describes the strategic role employee communication can play by ensuring that employees are well informed and, therefore, positioned to contribute to the success of the organization.

The leader in this situation will be inspiring cultural change, a transformation in the way group decision makers think about their own operations and behave toward other group leaders.

Communication helps shape the culture of any organization and effective internal communication is absolutely essential to bring about any transformation in that culture.

In Conclusion, from the day-to-day exchanges to the major efforts associated with organizational change, internal communication is important to success of any organization. The strategy for internal communication consists of the basic components of any effective communication strategy, such as audience analysis, targeted messages, and appropriate media, but it is also much more than processes and products. Leaders need all their leadership communication abilities to inspire, motivate, and guide employees to support their visions and their goals for the organization.

Question

1. What are Strategic Objectives?

·        Strategic objectives help to make a vision more meaningful and actionable

·        They should be Specific actions designed to help accomplish the vision and bring sustainable competitive advantage

·        Longer-term measurable targets, usually divided into two categories:

- Quantitative goals

- Qualitative goals

2. What is a Vision?

·        The vision is what the company wants to become.

·        An effective vision does the following:

- Reflects the company leaders’ willingness to project into the future       Expresses aspirations

·        Describes an inspiring new reality, achievable in a reasonable time frame

Guides internal actions

·        Usually starts with the words “to become” or “to create”

3. Why Use Mission and Vision Statements?

·        Establish a firm foundation of goals, standards, and objectives to guide corporate planners and managers

·        Satisfy both company’s need for efficiency and employees’ need for group identity

·        Inspire individual action, determine behavior, and fuel motivation

Provide direction to keep everyone moving in the same direction