In episode 100 of the Leadership Minute, Tony Uphoff talks about the importance of strong, clear, and transparent communications, especially during times of rapid change.
This episode is sponsored by “Selling to the New Executive Buying Committee,” an Acceleration Economy Course designed to help vendors, partners, and buyers understand the shifting sands of how mid-market and enterprise CXOs are making purchase decisions to modernize technology.
Highlights
01:06 — Times of hyperchange, when circumstances are rapidly evolving, create uncertainty, confusion, and anxiety. A good communication framework becomes crucial during these periods for several reasons:
- Clarity: When things are changing fast, it’s easy for misunderstandings to occur.
- Decision-making: Rapid change requires quick decision-making, and a clear communication framework facilitates sharing information for making well-informed decisions.
- Alignment: Rapid change can pull teams in different directions, and communication frameworks can keep everyone aligned toward the same goals.
- Reducing anxiety: Open communications can help reduce stress and uncertainty by keeping everybody informed about what’s going on, reducing rumors, and creating a sense of community and shared purpose.
- Building trust: In a fast-changing environment, effective communication can help build trust between individuals, teams, and customers.
02:29 — Companies moving up in the Cloud Wars rankings are showing some world-class examples of communication frameworks, while some companies moving down in the rankings are showing poor or ineffective communication.
04:49 — A good example of a good communication framework in action was Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s recent memo about employee layoffs. In just 626 words, he clearly communicated what was happening, why it was happening, and how it was happening. It was an excellent example of a strong communication framework that communicated a difficult and challenging message from the #1 company on the Cloud Wars Top 10.
