In Praise of Overcommunication

There is no such thing as overcommunication, argue Adam Bryant, managing director of Merryck & Co. and Kevin Sharer, former president, CEO, and chairman of Amgen. They describe overcommunication as a “key leadership lesson” in their new book, The CEO Test, an excerpt of which appears in Fast Company.
 
Across hundreds of interviews with CEOs, one of the most consistent themes the authors heard is a “growing recognition that they must make an extra effort to close the gap between how much they think they need to communicate and what their employees want and need from them.” The more people you are addressing the simpler and shorter your message needs to be.
 
Although saying the same thing over and over can seem tedious to the one saying it, don't stop! It’s important to feed people’s desire to know…not just their need. If leaders aren’t sharing much, then employees will supply their own narrative.
“Leaders must be prepared to be teased for endlessly repeating the strategy,” the authors advise. “If your employees roll their eyes and say what you’re going to say before you open your mouth, consider that a victory because they have internalized the message.”

Is there a message that you repeatedly share with employees? Are there messages you could be sharing more often? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.

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