But as organizations get bigger and start doing things like splitting up into "divisions," "business units," or other business-speak fiefdoms, people begin to lose sight of the larger organization purpose. They often become confused or myopic, and the organizational as a whole suffers.
How to you ensure your organization is aligned and moving toward the achievement of your core purpose? For me, it starts by developing a strategic focus on internal communications, channeling the mindset of the conductor of an orchestra.
Yet most companies hire relatively junior people into internal communications roles. The result? Worthless emails about the newest snacks in the breakroom, reminders about the time of the next staff meeting, and whatever other junk these poor souls can pull together.
What can senior executives do to ensure they are making the right investments in organizational alignment? In my view, there is no better investment than bringing in a savvy and experienced communications professional who thinks of themselves as the conductor of an orchestra.
A savvy, emotionally-intelligent internal communications professional can do wonders to help align an organization. To do their best work, they may consider thinking of themselves as the conductor of an orchestra.
If you are in an internal communications, culture, or employee engagement role, you might be saying to yourself "But what can I do? I'm not an executive. No one wants to listen to me."
Remember, the conductor of an orchestra doesn't even have an instrument. He/she wields a tiny little baton. And with that little baton, the conductor can make Mozart, Tchaikovsky, or Beethoven come out.
Here are a couple of ideas that will help you think more like a conductor:
1) You don't have to play all the instruments yourself
A good conductor knows that he/she has an amazing group of musicians to work with and encourages them to play, while inspiring them to rise to the level of their talent. A savvy internal communications professional is often nearly invisible, playing the organizational tune through the instruments of the CEO, leading executives, and other influential voices within the organization.
They choose the pieces of music, bring together the orchestra, and tell everyone what parts to play, but they rarely play an instrument themselves.
2) An orchestra where everyone plays the exact same notes would sound like crap
In a symphony, the diversity of instruments-- woodwinds, percussion, strings, horns-- allows for the complex and beautiful expression of music. Yet in many organizations, internal communications professionals expect every executive or spokesperson to toe the company line, sticking to the rehearsed speech.
To me, this sort of expression comes off as canned corporate BS. To be effective, we must take advantage of the voice of each communicator, allowing them to utilize their own strengths, interests, and passions to tell the organizational story.
The key is not getting them to play the exact same notes as everyone else. It's to get them to play in the same key. Different people prefer the sound of different instruments. DIfferent people also find different communicators credible/authentic. When you have many people communicating the organizational mission in their own ways (while staying in key), you increase the chance that people will begin to hear, understand, and value that mission.
3) An orchestra will get better with practice
With a four person rock band, like in a small organization, it is fairly easy to pick up an instrument, find a key, and start jamming decently together.
But in a symphony orchestra with as many as 100 players, it takes some work to get everyone playing together. Jamming isn't as easy. Getting 100 or more people playing well together takes practice. And with practice, an internal communications conductor will begin identifying the wrong notes and can easily correct them before deep misalignment happens.
Alignment helps to lessen the pervasiveness of internal politics that can cripple large organizations. It helps people think of their role in context, as a piece of something bigger and more important than their daily experience might show them. It helps people understand why their work matters, which helps them become more deeply engaged in their work.
1) Identify the best musicians for your orchestra
Who are the people who have the clearest or loudest voices? The people who command the most respect? Those who others tend to like to listen to? What are you waiting for? Recruit them to help, already.
2) Practice a few pieces to see how you sound together
Sometimes the best group isn't necessarily the best musicians, but instead those who sound best when playing together. Tweak your group not just after hearing them play solo, but after hearing them play with others as well.
3) Continuously look for new talent
Bring in new energy as often as possible. Recognize emerging talents early, and turn them into stars.
Hi folks! Thanks for the great comments.
Matt: To answer your question about real world examples, this is the approach we used to build the Red Hat (www.redhat.com) brand and culture. We talked about it as "building the brand from the inside out." I also use this approach with many of our New Kind clients, especially when working on mission/purpose-related or brand positioning projects.
Red Hat typically had a senior level person in the internal communications role and the two internal communications people I worked with at Red Hat were both very emotionally intelligent, savvy communicators with deep relationships throughout the company, at the executive level and below.
Mirelle: Definitely agree. Most managers today are not like conductors, there is much more… is empathy the right word?… between conductors and musicians because of the shared experience of mastering an instrument. I'd love to see more managers *thinking like* conductors…to help them channel the way conductors approach their work, their mindset. In my view, it is a simple but effective framing mechanism to help guide internal communications/engagement initiatives.
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Hi Chris,
:) Yes, Zander is wonderful. Like here: http://www.ted.com/talks/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion.html.
He does't talk about getting musicians to play in key though. He addresses non music people, to make them feel a bit of what musicians are about.
The point I tried to make is that most managers are not at all like conductors. They don't understand what the people they manage (their 'orchestras') actually do. Worse: they are not even interested because they consider the people they manage and their skills as inferior to their own. This is very different from the world of music.
Do you know these videos? If not, watch & listen?
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/astonishing_performance_by_a_venezuel...
http://www.ted.com/talks/itay_talgam_lead_like_the_great_conductors.html
Best, Mireille
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I agree. In fact I have used this analogy especially as it pertains to my title - Director, which I find to mean and imply very similar things that conductor does.
Also, be sure to check out "The Art of Possibility" by Benjamin Zander (conductor, Boston Philharmonic) and Rosamund Stone Zander. He speaks publicly about his techniques as a conductor and how they apply to the business world.
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Chris,
Conductors always start as accomplished musicians. So they know what it is to spend 20-40 years practising the violin or whatever. They don't just theoretically or morally 'appreciate' the effort and skill and knowledge of the people they lead: they know it from their own experience. And the people in the orchestra know that he or she knows it. Hence the mutual respect which is the basis of orchestras and conductors working well together. They are all highly skilled musical professionals, and this understanding and fundamental equality is the basis of how they interact, even if it looks different for the audience. Sooner or later, conductors who get this relationship wrong because they wield the baton, are out. Stories aplenty about how orchestras get rid of dictatorial conductors.
Best, Mireille
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Chris,
I think you may be on to something.
I suspect the communications challenge is far more complex in the real world, but you have the right starting point.
Do you have any real world cases you can share where this approach worked?
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Hello Chris
I have read your hack with the following criteria in mind:
- The need is to evolve out of Command & Control. Does the hack define an alternative?
- The alternative must be compelling. It must recognize the need to overcome the constraints of time, energy and motivation.
- An alternative without the use of technology is unlikely to succeed.
- The alternative must create a constructive collective by intrinsic means, i.e., desist from 'brain-washing' personnel for discipline and organization.
Your idea is seductive but dangerous, particularly after knowing about the "Smart-talk" trap where executives earn points for talking smartly but may do little to walk the talk. It does not offer the means to conduct better communication in context in chaotic circumstances. This is a definite bottleneck of our times. I wonder where the transforming energy comes from? Even email, which can reach people 24x7, does not drive the Give ‘n’ Take needed for real communication. Besides, it demands organization and house-keeping which few engage in.
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