As a coach in communication I still hear stories of insufficient cross-departmental communication in medium and large companies.
Here is one recommendation to manage teams in times of crisis.
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One of my client, a successful engineer became general manager of a group
subsidiary; as a very nice man, communication skills weren't his forte.
Furthermore he hated to speak in public.
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My job, then, was to make communication skills his best ally.
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One day, my client organized a critically important cross-departmental
meeting within the company in order to solve a disagreement with a
client. That disagreement could potentially cost the company a hefty
amount of money with the associated penalties if the case wasn't solved
quickly.
After that critical meeting with different teams had taken place, my client, the general manager, then, decided to organize separate short meetings with each stakeholders involved in that crisis
on a one to one basis, in his own office. The purpose was to clarify some remaining issues and ensure the solution proposed was well accepted and understood by everyone involved.
It ended up very well.
These additional sets of one to one meetings proved to be a very efficient
way to guarantee full and optimum participation from the different teams
and their inclusion into the decision making process in order...
1. To avoid the repetition of such problem
2. To bring a swift resolution and solution to the problem
The lesson I took away from this case was :
- in time of crisis, there can never be too much communication from the management to the operational teams
- the support operational teams receive in such case, tends to make them stronger and more dependable next time a problem arises
As a coach in communication I still hear stories of insufficient cross-departmental communication in medium and large companies.
What about you ? Do you think cross-departmental communication has improved or deteriorated lately ?