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GREAT COMMUNICATION SECRETS OF GREAT LEADERS
tal network. As a result, the department has a strong esprit de corps. This con-
nectedness has spurred cooperation because colleagues know more about one
another’s projects and can share information more easily. This sharing has
produced true organizational growth because the lessons learned on one proj-
ect can often be carried to the next.
The e-communication revolution has certainly produced harmony in the
ranks, but lately some employees are beginning to feel overwhelmed. While
they appreciate Bill’s keeping them abreast of developments, his emails, once
a trickle, are now a veritable tsunami. And the emails don’t stop when Bill is
out of the office. Evenings, weekends, and out-of-town trips do not stem the
flow. In fact, it seems that the more Bill is away, the more he sends messages.
Accompanying his messages are the inevitable to-dos. His people cannot keep
up. As a result, the happy workplace that Bill fostered so diligently is begin-
ning to fray at the edges. People have become edgy, snapping at one another
and going out of their way to avoid Bill. One or two refuse to check their email
more than once per day for fear of getting another wave of things to do.

While the dot.com bubble may have burst, one of its legacies is thriving—
e-communications (see Figure 5-1). From corporate intranets to e-newsletters
as well as the all-pervasive email, we are all more connected, or e-connected,
than ever before. Rosabeth Moss Kanter has written, “Communication is the
1
core of e-culture.” Much of this connectedness is good. We can work from
home, from the airport, from a remote office, or from a beach in the
Bahamas—often more productively—thanks to the proliferation of e-commu-
nications. Being connected 24/7 is our mantra—always on, always available.
Hold on, though! Maybe all of this connectedness has a price, and a big
one. A loss of privacy. A loss of free time. A loss of touch with the people who
are nearest and dearest to us. A loss of everything except work time.
Leaders need to be aware of the power of e-communications. Leaders do
a great deal of communicating electronically. In fact, most people will have
more contact with the leader through email than face to face. The ability to
express a leadership point of view in words only is essential. When used suc-
cessfully, e-communications will help lay the foundation for a virtual commu-
nity. The hub of the e-community is the web site. The lifeblood of the
e-community is email.
Email also has its perils. Most of us are inundated with too much email.
Leaders need to limit their use of it when sending leadership messages; other-
wise it will not be read. Also, email cannot be a substitute for face-to-face
encounters. There are times, such as in coaching, when only face-to-face