Straight Talking

The role of the business leader as communicator

A CHA report, December 2006

Foreword
Leadership specialists have long advised that communication is a critical role for leaders, but in a society that celebrates the cult of the individual, the advice is too narrowly interpreted. Too much value is placed on charismatic leadership: Boards select leaders for their dazzle and the biggest plaudits are saved for those whose profile is often bigger than that of their organisation. With this report we bring the verdict of the workforce: the best leaders are the straight talkers, who eschew performance for authenticity, staying true to themselves as they move up the ranks. Which is of course good news for the majority of leaders weary of being straight-jacketed into a presentational style better associated with evangelism than business management. The report identifies four styles of leadership communication, which we have labeled Considerate, Controlling, Understated and Charismatic. Leaders within each group emerge as more or less comfortable in their role as communicators with their employees. The good news is that the biggest group of leaders are the Considerate Communicators. The disappointing news is that the Controlling Communicators come a close second. Considerate Communicators are far more likely to make their staff feel motivated, committed and involved than Controlling Communicators who too often generate distrust and so disengage staff. Good leaders also understand the importance of communicating with employees and the difference their own engagement with their workforce can make to the bottom line. Our previous research, A Little More Conversation, highlighted the importance of effective employee communication, with 90% of those who are kept fully informed more likely to be motivated to deliver added value to the company. The business benefits are clear: the more you communicate with staff, the more they are motivated to deliver results for the organisation. This report takes the argument on and highlights that honest and clear communication is the most highly prized quality in a leader. Yet, disappointingly only 40% of employees report that their leaders are effective employee communicators. It would seem that leaders have more work to do to fully engage with their staff. Fewer than half the employees surveyed believe their leaders have excellent or good communication skills. Over half (53%) say their leaders communication is not good. A quarter of respondents describe their leaders communication as poor or even dreadful. The message is clear. Leaders must communicate more frequently and directly with employees, in a way that is open and frank, to strengthen their respect and loyalty. But, of course, that is never quite enough. Actions, in the end, speak louder than words. Says David Taylor, author of The Naked Leader: People are not stupid - leaders will always be judged by what they say and do, not just by what they say.

Colette Hill, Chief Executive CHA, the workplace communications consultancy

Report methodology

An online survey was carried out by Explorandum, an independent market research company, in October 2006 with a representative sample of 1103 employees in organisations with 60 or more staff. Commentator interviews were conducted by telephone in November 2006.

Straight talking
The role of the business leader as communicator

Executive summary
Our survey of 1,003 workers reveals four distinct styles of leadership communication. Of course, there are as many styles as there are communicators but it is fascinating to see how clearly these broad groupings emerge.

The Considerate Communicator Greg Dyke

Just over a third of employees are in the happy position of being led by a Considerate Communicator. More than half the leaders in this group are rated good communicators; almost two fifths are rated excellent. They keep their employees up-to-date with both good and bad news and are much more likely to communicate directly with their staff than through line managers or the media. They invite feedback and value the views of employees. Their employee communication style is: Warm, respectful and considerate Interesting, relevant and jargon-free Sincere, trustworthy and honest Considerate Communicators are more likely to rank communication with employees as an important role. As a result they are far more likely to make their staff feel motivated, committed and involved. When you look at the truly inspirational leaders and communicators of the modern world, their strength comes from an unstinting belief that what they are trying to achieve is what drives them as an individual. They are inspirational leaders and communicators because they are being utterly true and honest to their own lifes purpose. Andrew Armes, head of career development, AstraZeneca

The Controlling Communicator Rupert Murdoch

Unfortunately, not all employees are led by a Considerate Communicator. The second largest group, around a third of respondents, say they are led by Controlling Communicators, 60% of whom are rated poor or dreadful, the rest showing room for improvement. Their employee communication style can be: Confusing and full of jargon Arrogant, always right, patronising Boring, lacklustre and dull Cold and insincere Limelight-seeking Specifically: Their employees describe them as strong on business acumen but underrating the importance of engaging Controlling Communicators are more likely to underestimate the intelligence of their audience, and to underestimate how far staff can be trusted with staff, more likely to be concerned with their external profile They fail to provide staff with enough information about the future plans of the organisation; 75% of their staff would like to hear from their leaders more often than they do Over half of their staff say that their leader communicates too late and they are most likely to hear news of the organisation through the grapevine They are much more likely to communicate only when things go wrong information None of them possesses a two-way communication style and they are likely to make the staff feel stupid if they ask a question. Controlling leaders are much less likely to make their staff feel motivated, committed and involved or to earn their trust. A leader's personality will always spread to their immediate team so a controlling leader is likely to encourage similar people around them, which will only spread their poison further, and seriously threaten future success, or survival. David Taylor, author, The Naked Leader

"Above all, in order to gain respect, you need to be true to yourself. There is no point in trying to be suave and sophisticated if it doesnt come naturally."
Sir Alan Sugar

The Understated Communicator Sven-Gran Eriksson

Just 17% of respondents say their leader takes the low-key approach to communication. They are probably not natural communicators so while they are straightforward, saying what they mean, their tone and style can come over as half-hearted. These leaders are neither wonderful nor terrible: just 6% of them are rated excellent communicators by their staff and 5% are rated dreadful. As a consequence they are capable of making their staff feel motivated and involved but, equally, they can still fail to engage staff. Their communication style is likely to be some or all of the following: Reserved, restrained Informal and impersonal Lacklustre Specifically: Their reticence may lead them to underestimate how far staff can be trusted with information They are as likely to communicate good news as bad They are more likely to communicate through line managers, rather than directly to employees 53% of their staff would like to hear from them more often than they do.

The Charismatic Communicator Richard Branson

Just 15% of employees would define their leaders communication style as charismatic. Over half this group are judged good leaders and 7% are excellent. Charismatic Communicators are much more likely to communicate in a consistent and relevant way than Controlling or Understated Communicators. Their style could be described as: Interesting and persuasive Assertive, confident Full of conviction Polished Occasionally, aggressive Specifically: Although undoubtedly good communicators, charismatic leaders are most keen to communicate with customers, rather than with staff They have business acumen combined with an excellent public reputation. Maintaining their public image is nearly as important to them as winning and keeping customers. They see themselves as a figurehead: if you keep the profile high, customers will follow the brand They say what they mean and invite feedback from staff They are good at face-to-face communication, appealing to their audience with their informal, conversational style. Charismatic communicators are far more likely to make their staff feel motivated and committed. But charisma comes with a health warning from Peter Drucker: Charisma becomes the undoing of leaders. It makes them inflexible, convinced of their own infallibility, unable to change.

Straight talking
The role of the business leader as communicator

Leadership Communication Axis

style
Charismatic Communicator Considerate Communicator

high

Of course, in the final analysis, communication is a delicate balance of style and content. The challenge for the leader is to pay adequate attention to each. It is important both to make sure you impart correct, consistent information and that you do so in a way that is interesting and persuasive. We would conjecture that Controlling Communicators have trouble delivering on both style and substance while Considerate Communicators are successful with both. Meanwhile, Understated Communicators struggle with style as much as Charismatic Communicators may do so with substance. At this point, it is tempting to add a fifth category that would score 0 on our graph and which we will call the Manic Communicator: the pseudoevangelist who mesmerises with a frenzied presentation la Steve Ballmer of Microsoft leaving the audience bemused and confused.

Understated Communicator low Controlling Communicator

substance
low high

Communication is the name of the game

It will be surprising news to UK leaders that their employees rank their skill as a communicator above even their ability to set the vision of the company. Indeed, the ranking of five leadership qualities puts communication with staff well ahead of the rest: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. communicating with staff (76%) clear vision (43%) business acumen (40%) public reputation (30%) political acumen (5%)

their own willingness to communicate and engage with their employees can have on the energy in their organisation, the consequent discretionary effort, the potential unleashed and ultimately the bottom line. Indeed, the vast majority of employees (85%) want to know about their organisations plans for the future. Two-thirds of employees are interested in whats going on in their organisation, even if it doesnt directly affect them in their job. How disappointing then that only 40% of the employees we interviewed say that their leader communicates effectively with them. In the largest organisations with more than 1000 staff

the percentage dips further to just 36%. By contrast, employees place little value on the public reputation of a leader, with only 30% of them citing this as an important quality. Four out of 10 leaders have a good public reputation in the eyes of their employees. People need to feel you care about them. You need to show them you are on their side. You cant fiddle this. Too often, people stop being authentic as they move up the ladder because they lose touch with themselves, with their roots. Greg Dyke former BBC director-general

This finding underscores our central message: that leaders significantly underestimate the extraordinary impact

Leaders ranking as communicators:

Excellent 15% Good 33% Room for improvement 28% Poor 15% Dreadful 9%

4. Only two in 10 employees feel their leader actually listens rather than just barks out instructions. However there is also some good news. Almost two fifths of respondents say their leader is a confident communicator; over a third say they are straight-talking and a third say their leaders invite feedback. It is impossible to underestimate the importance of communication. People value honesty and openness very highly and they distrust those who seem to have an overtly personal or political agenda. Leaders need to find ways to be consistent, timely and genuine in their communication and to regularly find out from the people in their organisations how this is working. Steve Newhall managing director, DDI Europe

(and those stakeholders ability or not to make themselves heard) makes it difficult for leaders to judge where their attention should be focused. According to their employees, Britains leaders rank their stakeholders thus: Customers and clients Peers in the industry Staff Shareholders Politicians and policy makers General public The media Given that the organisation is its employees, it could be argued that communication should actually start from the inside out. Indeed, with the whole organisation supporting the vision and the plan, consistent external communication becomes the role of every employee a burden that is very much shared.

Communication breakdown
Overall, the judgment of employees is damning: most leaders communication style is poor. The findings are consistently critical: 1. Fewer than three in 10 leaders communicate consistently 2. Just a quarter present information that seems relevant to employees 3. A third evidently underestimate how far staff can be trusted with information and a similar number underestimate the intelligence of their employees

Prioritising stakeholders
The demand on leaders time is of course intense. The range of stakeholders that vie for their attention

CHAs 5 rules of leadership communication:

1. Make time to communicate with your employees, treating it as a priority not an afterthought 2. Dont underestimate your employees interest in your plans, their intelligence or their ideas 3. Communication involves listening as much as speaking; dialogue is the oxygen of change 4. To gain employees trust, just be yourself 5. Make sure what you say leads to what you do; your behaviour is communication

Straight talking
The role of the business leader as communicator

Advice from the shop floor

1. Talk to us more often Britains leaders are failing to communicate with staff frequently enough. Half of Britains employees want to hear from their leader more often, keeping them up-to-date with good and bad news as it happens. A quarter of leaders communicate with staff only when its too late, and theyve already heard the news through the grapevine. Nearly one in 10 employees claim their leader doesnt communicate with employees at all. Just over 25% of employees hear from their leaders about their organisations plans on a quarterly basis; for a similar proportion it can be as little as once or twice a year.

is simple and consistent: Meet us face to face and listen to what we have to say. And: Leaders should involve all staff in meetings so they can find out what is going on all together not via speculation or the grapevine.

how the organisational change was conducted, with nearly a third simply being told what was planned by the organisation. Only one in five employees were asked to get involved in the planning process; with only 15% asked to contribute their views on the plans. One could almost conclude that I&C has made no difference at all in the UK beyond some initially energetic planning. We only receive information regarding restructuring through e-mail and are asked to feed back our ideas and thoughts through e-mail. If the leader could speak to groups of staff it may help to reduce anxieties and rumours, said one respondent. Another offered: Present clear communications on why changes are happening, how they are going to be implemented, what the real implications are.

3. Tell us more More than half (54%) of Britains employees say they dont get enough information from the top about whats going on. But things are getting better: half of respondents say theyre getting more information than last year and just under half say theyre getting more information than ever before. Indeed, a significant minority, one in five employees, say they get more information than they can take in and digest.

2. Tell us straight People generally hear important news about their organisation from their line manager (48%), or through the organisation grapevine (47%). The grapevine is the main source of company news in the private sector (50%), compared with 47% who hear it first from their line manager. Fewer than a third of staff hear important news from the top. This figure rises to 36% in smaller organisations and drops to 26% in organisations employing more than 1000 staff. A significant minority, 10% of employees, hear important news through the media; shockingly, in larger organisations with 1000 plus staff, this figures soars to 21%. The overwhelming view of respondents is that leaders should take the time to talk to them face to face. The advice

4. Tell us sooner Despite the best intentions of the 2005 information and consultation (I&C) regulations, while more than two-thirds of employees have experienced organisational change such as restructuring, only 28% were told about it during the planning stage. Surprisingly, 18% of employees found out about significant organisational change when the news was leaked in an unplanned way. Very few employees are involved in

5. Acknowledge our input Over 90% of employees agree that its either very important or quite important for leaders to acknowledge feedback or comments from staff. Not all leaders invite comments or feedback from their staff, but where feedback is given, its essential that its at least acknowledged, even if not acted on.

About CHA
CHA works with the HR, marketing and communications teams of major employers to help them explain their purpose, energise and motivate their staff and build their reputations as great places to work. We also work with the specialist consultancies that support them and the campaigning organisations that influence them. To find out how CHA might be able to help you, call 020 7622 8252 for a free consultancy session with one of our consultants, or email cha@chapr.co.uk For a complementary copy of CHAs previous reports, Business Behaving Badly, A Little More Conversation & Pride At Work go to our website, www.chapr.co.uk

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