Page 23 - The Voice of Authority

If your team, department, organization, or family
doesn’t change a negative communication culture, chances
are great that it’s going down the tubes sooner or later.
Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan, authors of the bestseller
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, cite ex-
ample after example of company failures due to poor ex-
ecution—and much of it can be traced to poor internal
communication. A few years ago, Fortune magazine also
explored why companies fail. Of the 10 reasons cited, four
centered on dysfunctional communication—“see no evil,
dysfunctional board, fearing the boss, dangerous corpo-
rate culture.”
If you have to work in this kind of dysfunctional cul-
ture, you can be the miracle worker. Clearing up fuzzy
communication will have a huge impact on your team’s
success.
What’s the payoff personally? You’ll be able to

Identify what to communicate, when to communi-
cate it, and how to say it so that it sticks.
Create compelling conversations to influence others
to act.
Connect with people to increase trust and coopera-
tion.
Facilitate understanding in complex, controversial,
and difficult situations.
Encourage information sharing rather than informa-
tion hoarding.
Build morale, improve team chemistry, and make
others feel part of the group.

Increase your credibility and impact when speaking
before a group.

There Is Just No Communication around Here 11