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Clarity. Keep the message consistent with the culture of the organiza-

tion. Volunteer-based organizations such as the Girl Scouts, the Salva-
tion Army, and the U.S. Marine Corps excel at making their messages
simple, direct, and in keeping with their cultural values. When you see
an ad for one of these organizations, you know what the organization
stands for; there is no ambiguity about its purpose or intention.
Repeatability. It is overly optimistic (and maybe a little presumptuous)
CHAPTER 4 LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING 57
to think that people will remember a message the first time they hear it.
Maybe the listener didn’t hear it the first time, or perhaps it was not
relevant to her or him the first time she or he heard it. It is the leader’s
responsibility to repeat the same message in different locations. The
more times an audience sees and hears a message, the greater the
chance that they will remember it. Think of advertising for your
friendly local auto dealer. You see new ads for the business on televi-
sion, over the airwaves, in the newspaper, and on billboards. Pretty
soon you get the point of who the dealer is and what he sells. Leaders,
too, need to be seen and heard frequently. 7
ENSURING ORGANIZATIONAL FEEDBACK

Effective communications is a two-way street. All too often leaders spend the
bulk of their time on crafting a message without stopping to listen to what peo-
ple are saying about it. It is imperative that leaders provide avenues through
which followers can voice their opinion of a leadership message as well as
provide additional ideas that reinforce organizational values.
In this way, as mentioned previously, leaders enable the employees to take
ownership of the idea. When you ask for feedback, you are saying, “We care
about you, and we want your ideas.” In return, the employee will feel a sense of
obligation to contribute. In effect, asking for feedback is a kind of call to action.
The U.S. Army has a policy of expecting junior officers to challenge
senior officers’ opinions on matters related to the health and safety of the
troops. During After Action Reports, the postmortem reviews of military exer-
cises or actions, junior officers are encouraged to speak up and say how things
might have gone differently. Why? Because the Army views AARs as learning
tools. Continuous improvement will occur only when people can speak their
minds. This does not mean that senior leaders need to agree; it simply means
that they must listen. The same rule should apply in the civilian sector.

IMPLEMENTING A PLAN FOR SOLICITING FEEDBACK
Leaders need to understand that feedback will happen spontaneously. It is
part of the passive communications environment discussed earlier in the