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November 02, 2004
Democracy (at its best) is messy; so is communication
Here we are on Election Day, waiting in line to vote, worried about voting irregularities, watching to see if there are early returns, and wondering if by the time we go to bed tonight (or wake up tomorrow), we’ll know who won.
Isn’t democracy wonderful? For as long as I’ve been voting, I never remember a presidential election as passionate as this one. We’ve got millions of engaged voters—some new, some experienced, some polarized, some on the fence—and they’re all out there participating.
It’s not a neat process or a pretty one, but it sure is lively.
Contrast this with the way employee communication works in most organizations. Communicators are usually so worried about getting things right that they often sacrifice the very qualities that make communication compelling—timeliness, drama, human feeling, conflict—for accuracy. The result is communication that is extremely correct but entirely irrelevant.
I can hear you protesting: “The lawyers make me squeeze the life out of everything!” “Senior management is completely risk-averse.” “This company doesn’t understand communication at all.”
Sorry, but that’s not good enough. Communicators have a duty to not only satisfy the demands of our internal clients (management, lawyers et. al.) but also to meet the needs of our customers (employees).
During this election year, those employees have been out there watching debates, viewing blogs about politics, learning about the issues, and involved in vigorous, sometimes heated discussions. They know what good communication feels like, and they certainly know if communication is stagnant in your organization. You owe it to employees to stand up for their communication rights.
I’m Alison Davis and I approved this message.
Posted by Alison Davis at November 2, 2004 04:09 PM