communications – eric b. jacobson

Making your communications successful

Every organization aspires to have successful communications efforts. Successful communications build support for your mission and attract people and resources to your organization.

But what does successful communications look like? Generally, we can think of success in terms of two basic qualities: effectiveness and efficiency. In communications, effectiveness means that our messages reach our audiences in ways that advance our programmatic goals, and efficiency means that we get the biggest impact with the least investment of resources. Communications that are effective but not efficient are unsustainable in the long run, and communications that are efficient but not effective will not get you the results you want. We want our efforts to be successful in the short-term but also sustainable in the long-term.

Unfortunately, many organizations struggle to maximize the success of their communications efforts. This is sometimes due to a lack of time and other resources, sometimes it is due to a lack of institutional understanding about the role and importance of communications, and sometimes it is due to a lack of clarity about how to utilize communications to their fullest effect.

In my experience with organizations, many fail to engage in successful planning for their communications. Good planning helps to focus your efforts, use your resources more effectively and efficiently, and establish a common understanding with others about what you will do and how it will get done. A good plan covers four areas:

Purpose. What is it we are trying to achieve and why?
Direction. What is our approach for achieving our goals?
Action. What will be done, by whom, and by when?
Evaluation. How will we monitor progress and measure success?

We sometimes don’t invest in planning because we think it takes too much time and we have an urgent need for action. However, plans need not be elaborate nor time-consuming, and failing to plan can lead to inefficiency and ineffectiveness. While a robust plan can yield strong results, even learning to simply articulate the purpose, direction, action, and evaluation of your communications effort can be used to build support and keep things moving towards success.

June 16, 2017 Add Comment

Are you planning for change?

Change is a natural and even inevitable part of an organization’s life cycle. As the organization grows, learns, and adapts, it will be necessary to alter your strategies or even shift your mission. At a minimum, most organizations create new strategic plans every three to five years.

The successful implementation of those changes and plans will require the cooperation and commitment of the whole organization – from entry-level staff to your Board. After all, everyone plays a role in the success of the organization.

But change can be hard. Some people fear what such changes mean for their jobs. Others worry if it’s the right decision for the organization. Some like things the way they are and don’t want things to change. Some people just naturally are creatures of habit, finding comfort in the familiar, and they have a hard time with change. Change can create stress, anxiety, and dissatisfaction and disengagement. All of this resistance will make it harder for the organization to implement any change and succeed in making a shift.

Most of the time, strategic planning happens with a focus on producing the deliverable without fully considering the process or how it affects others. Any good planning process should assess potential resistance and proactively respond to ensure successful implementation of the plan. This takes a little more effort, but done well, it makes organizational changes so much easier.

Here are a few ways to reduce resistance and improve acceptance of and commitment to the new plan:

Consider potential concerns from the start. Survey the employees to get an understanding for how people are feeling and to identify both those who will resist the changes and those who can help promote them. What specific concerns do people have? How can you alleviate those concerns and send a positive message that resonates with staff?
Communicate a clear vision and value. If you want people to get on board with the changes, they need to understand the purpose and benefits of such changes. Why is this change so important? Why now? What will things look like with the changes? How will things be better for the organization and everyone who works there?
Involve people in the process. Reach out to key people in the organization who can help implement the changes and help build a coalition of support. Empower the staff to be proactive and help solve any problems that may arise in the process. Keep channels open for ideas and feedback that can improve the changes or their implementation.
Provide regular updates. Keep people informed about the process, key milestones, critical decisions, and opportunities for staff to provide feedback or engage in the process. Also, updates are a good way to reinforce the vision, value, and enthusiasm for the forthcoming changes.
Offer support during the transition. While you want to provide opportunities for people to provide feedback and be involved in helping the organization change, you also want to make sure employees are supported by the organization. Have someone who can advise employees that are struggling with the transition, and consider making someone involved in the change process serve as a liaison to answer questions or just listen to concerns. Some organizations also offer additional time off to help people deal with stress, or allow flex-time to help them balance personal priorities when work gets too stressful.

Once the changes are in place, be sure to reinforce them with incentives and by demonstrating how such changes are leading to positive outcomes for staff and the organization.

Change is hard, especially when it can mean venturing into the unknown. To make the transition easier, planning for change should include planning for implementation, factoring in others’ feelings about the change into the process. When you need to change an entire organization, you need the entire organization standing with you.

April 27, 2016 Add Comment

What makes for a great leader?

Every organization should be a leader – a leader of a cause and a leader of a community of supporters for that cause. Leadership is the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or a set of goals, and mission-driven organizations need to successfully bring people together to accomplish long-term impact.

But what makes for a good leader? Let’s take a look at what the research says about the traits and behaviors of individual leaders and then apply it to organizations.

Personality traits

When looking at the characteristics of leaders, there are certain personality traits that are important for their emergence and effectiveness. Extraversion is probably the most important trait, though it’s more strongly related to how leaders emerge than their effectiveness. This shouldn’t come as a surprise: extraverts enjoy talking to others, are comfortable with groups of people, and know how to assert themselves (though being too assertive can make a leader less effective). Conversely, introverts prefer to be alone and don’t like being in front of a crowd, which might make it difficult to attract, retain, and bring together followers.

Conscientiousness (self-discipline and responsibility) and openness (to new ideas and experiences) also show strong relationships to effective leadership. Leaders who are disciplined and keep commitments (conscientious) and who are creative and flexible (open) are more likely to be successful leaders.

Emotional intelligence (EI) – the ability to recognize and regulate emotions – is also an important trait. Someone may have a great vision, excellent training, fantastic ideas, and a highly analytical mind and still not make a great leader without EI. This is because a core component of EI is empathy – being sensitive to others’ needs and feelings. A leader who effectively displays and manages emotions will find it easier to connect with and influence the emotions of followers.

Charismatic leadership

Charismatic leaders are those to whom followers attribute heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities based on their behaviors. (Fun fact: the word charisma is from the Greek for “gift.”) There are four key characteristics of charismatic leaders:

An articulated vision. They express a better future as an idealized goal, and they are able to state the importance of the vision in terms that others understand.
Personal risk. They are willing to put themselves out there, incur high costs, and sacrifice themselves to achieve the vision.
Sensitivity to followers’ needs. They are perceptive of others’ qualities and responsive to their needs and feelings.
Unconventional behavior. They do things that are considered novel or even contrary to social norms.

Charismatic leaders can gather followers by presenting a clear and compelling vision, standing by their values, and being attuned to the needs and feelings of others. Of course, there are charismatic leaders who aren’t effective – the ones who are so larger than life that they pursue their own personal agendas – and the effectiveness of a charismatic leader can depend on the context and the vision itself. (After all, Hitler was a charismatic leader who convinced others to pursue a disastrous vision…)

Transformational leadership

There’s a whole body of research dedicated to differentiating between transactional leaders – those who guide followers towards goals by clarifying roles, tasks, and rewards – and transformational leaders – those who inspire followers to transcend their self-interests for the good of the organization.

It is important to note that these two modes of leadership are not in conflict. Transformational leadership builds on transactional leadership, producing levels of effort and performance beyond what transactional leadership can do.

So what characterizes transformational leaders? How do leaders get their followers to go above and beyond for the company? There are four key qualities:

Individualized consideration. They give personal attention to each follower and treats them individually.
Intellectual stimulation. They promote intelligence, rational thinking, and careful problem solving.
Inspirational motivation. They set high expectations, use metaphors to focus others’ efforts, and express important values in simple ways.
Idealized influence. They provide a sense of purpose, instill pride, gain respect, and build trust.

Like charismatic leaders, transformational leaders present a clear vision, but they also work to build consensus, increase follower self-efficacy (that “can do” spirit), and engage followers in taking on the responsibility of achieving the mission. Organizations with transformational leaders have more decentralized management and give followers a greater sense of autonomy.

Organizational Leadership

So what can organizations learn from all this? How can an organization as a whole serve as an effective leader that rallies support for its cause and its work? Since a list of fours seems to be the theme in this post, here’s another:

Present a clear vision and purpose. In your communications work, be sure to articulate your idealized version of the world and how it’s better than the current situation. Explain why it’s important, what the benefits are, and what it means for your audiences and what they care about.
Be sensitive to your audiences. Whether it’s your customers, your partners, your investors, or your employees, always be empathetic, understanding, responsive, and open-minded. Keep the lines of communication open, seek out feedback, ask what you can do for others, give personal attention, and make time for people. Trusting relationships are how we get things done, but they must be built and maintained with compassion and authenticity.
Set a good example. There’s truth in the adage, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” As a leader in the field, you should stand by your values, stay true to your word, and follow through on your promises and commitments. You should also be grounded, reasonable, rational, evidence-based, and level-headed – qualities that earn respect from people on all sides of an issue.
Instill greatness. If you want people to follow you, it’s not enough to just show them the path towards your vision. You want to be transformational and inspire others to walk that path. Stay positive about the road ahead so people believe change can happen, but also be realistic about the challenges. Empower others to take action by talking about their role in creating change and giving them opportunities to do something concrete. Make your supporters feel connected and involved in the organization, and let them take some responsibility for the organization’s progress. Followers want to feel like they’re a part of something bigger than themselves, something important and meaningful.

Organizations must connect with others and bring them together for a common goal. Just as individual leaders do, organizations must exhibit the right traits and behaviors to rally support and earn the respect, trust, and admiration of others. If you want your organization to succeed, invest in becoming a leading organization – one that inspires others to join your cause and helps you in achieving your mission.

April 6, 2016 2 Comments

What organizations can learn from Trump

Regardless of what you think about him, the fact is that Donald Trump has stunned everyone. He has lasted longer as a presidential candidate than anyone presumed, and he has garnered far more support among the Republican base than anticipated. His brash, off-the-cuff, anger-driven style has resonated with a lot of people, and it has gotten him more attention and media coverage than all other candidates combined.

Whether or not he wins the Republican nomination or even the presidency, there’s a lot to be learned from his performance during this campaign season. Organizations seeking to build a larger base of support for their work or their cause should take notes from Trump’s success – and his failures. Here are some key lessons to consider:

Have a strong brand. There’s no doubt that Trump has a strong brand. Just the mention of his name conjures a certain impression of the man, what he represents, and the kind of experience he creates. The strong emotional responses that people have to him are indicative of his distinct style and presence.
Keep it simple. Carnegie Mellon University did an analysis of Trump’s campaign speeches and found that they contain language commonly spoken by children ages 11 and under. His overall vocabulary ranked around the level of an eighth grader. Is it no wonder that he has been able to reach so many people? Too often organizations use words or syntax that are difficult to understand, which keeps people from connecting with or supporting them. Keep your language simple so people have no trouble agreeing with you.
Tap into emotions and values. Trump has run for president before, but this time he has gotten much further in his pursuit, and that’s in large part because he has tapped into the anger and frustration of a lot of Americans. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a lot of anger and frustration about the economy, immigration, terrorism, and our government. People respond to Trump (and similarly to Bernie Sanders) because he speaks out about these issues and he shares their feelings. What he says about immigrants, terrorists, politicians, and the economy reflects their own feelings and it resonates with them. Organizations wanting to grow and engage their own bases of support should similarly find ways to tap into their audiences’ emotions and values, and show how their work will benefit the things they care about.
Be authentic. A lot of people connect with Trump because he tells it like it is (in their view, anyway). They admire him for side-stepping political correctness and just speaking his mind, unfiltered. This is a big contrast to most politicians, who measure their words carefully and, as a result, come across as duplicitous or untrustworthy. Though organizations should probably be culturally sensitive to avoid the kind of negative attention that Trump has garnered (see the last point below), they should strive to be honest, straightforward, and true to their values in their work and their communications.
Be consistent. Trump is consistent in his style and personality, which reinforces his brand. Consistency also breeds trust and loyalty, because people know what to expect from him, and this in turn reinforces the relationships he’s built with supporters. On the other hand, he has not been very consistent in his policy positions, and though he has dismissed such accusations, it has caused problems for him. People find the inconsistencies in what he says to be cause for mistrust – someone who says two different things is less predictable and therefore less trustworthy – and such mistrust erodes your base of support. Organizations should be sure to be consistent in both their brand – their presence, personality, and messages – and their positions – what they stand for and believe in. If you dramatically or frequently change your brand or positions, you will lose some supporters, and it will make it harder for you to gain new ones.
Don’t be afraid to turn people away. If you’re going to have a strong brand that is authentic, taps into people’s emotions, and takes a hard position on the issues, you’re bound to say things that will turn people away. And that’s okay. If you’re trying to appeal to everyone, you’re probably appealing to no one, because you end up washing out your brand and your messaging by taking too many positions or dampening your language too much. Organizations should be confident in what they stand for and be comfortable communicating as much, even though there may be people who disagree with them. The people who disagree are not your target audience, and trying to appeal to them means you risk losing those who do agree with you by downplaying or moving away from what they care about. You probably don’t want as many people hating you as Trump has, but don’t feel that you need to appeal to all those who disagree with you either.
Back up your word. One of Trump’s weaknesses is that while he has an opinion about a lot of things, he doesn’t really have any evidence to support his positions. This makes him vulnerable to attacks from those who disagree with him. Organizations who will take positions on issues should be able to support their claims and justify their rationale with concrete evidence from reliable sources. This not only defends you against any attacks from naysayers, but it builds your case for support – and it makes your organization look more expert and professional.
Own up to your missteps. Trump is never shy to boast about his accomplishments, and a big part of his brand appeal is his success as a businessman. However, many have pointed out that many of his so-called successes were actually failures (Trump Steaks, anyone?). Trump refuses to admit any failures or weaknesses, and as a result, some have questioned his qualifications for Executive-In-Chief. After all, a sign of good leadership is accepting responsibility for your mistakes and then learning from them so you don’t repeat them. Similarly, organizations should step up and admit mistakes when they occur, take responsibility for them, and then learn from them so they don’t happen again. No one likes to admit failure, because they think it is shameful and will make people dislike them. But consider the alternative: hiding your failures takes a lot of effort, covering them up makes you vulnerable to those who might uncover them, and ignoring them increases the chances that it will happen again. And denying your failures only to defend them instead will make you look foolish, unprofessional, and untrustworthy. Just look at Trump.
Stay positive. Trump was quick to go negative in his campaign – against those he didn’t trust (he insulted Mexicans when he launched his campaign), against anyone he didn’t like (politicians, Obama, Megyn Kelly), against those who didn’t like him (the media), and against his competition (Republican candidates and the Democratic candidates). While those who supported him and his positions may have been energized by such attacks (and his willingness to speak his mind openly), it certainly turned a lot of people off, and it raised questions about whether or not his disposition was appropriate for the office of the President. As noted above, it’s important to stand for what you believe in, but that doesn’t mean you need to take down others too. Staying positive doesn’t mean you can’t talk about problems or crises. In this context it just means not offending or insulting others, including those who disagree with you. Especially in a world where social media and word of mouth can make or break a brand, it’s important that you earn people’s respect by behaving professionally and civilly. It will help you keep those who do support you, get positive attention from those who might support you, and minimize conflict from those who don’t support you.

Love him or hate him, don’t let Donald Trump’s candidacy pass you by without taking away some important lessons. His success and failures are similar to those of many organizations, and like Trump, they will rise or fall because of them.

March 25, 2016 1 Comment

Get your audience to agree with you

Time and time again, I see organizations sending the same kinds of communications. They talk about themselves and their work, why they believe it’s so important, and why they need your money. But they forget that it’s not about them and what they care about – it’s about their audiences and what they care about.

It’s hard to think about another’s perspective, especially when you spend all your time on the work, when it means so much to you personally, and when you have the Curse of Knowledge (you know so much about the work that you forget what it’s like to not know so much about it). But if you want messaging that reaches people – that excites them and compels them to action – you need to talk in a way that resonates with them.

I worked with a client recently on some messaging and we wanted to make it easy to understand but also resonant. I reminded the team that they want the audience to agree with them, to nod along as they’re listening, to say “yes!” in response. In order to do this, it’s important to consider what your audience cares about, and to state things in a way that taps into those values.

As I often tell my clients, you should think about why they would care about what you’re saying, not why they should care about it. The former is about relating what you’re saying to the values your audience already holds, whereas the latter is about trying to convince them of values they do not currently hold. The sweet spot is what we call shared values – the values that you hold in common, the things you both care about, what you all can agree on. Framing your message in terms of shared values positions what you’re saying in a way that relates to their values and gets them on your side.

Of course, you may get your audience nodding with you, but for the wrong reasons. They may interpret what you’re saying in a way that is different from what you intended. You all think you agree, but everyone is walking away with a different understanding, agreeing on different things. This is an ineffective message that can impede your efforts to build a strong and cohesive following. It can even be a barrier to getting your audience to do what you want them to do.

So it’s important to not just tap into their values, but to make sure you are being clear about your meaning. You don’t want your audience to misinterpret or question your message, and you don’t want them to work hard to decipher it. You want a clear message using articulate, concrete language that is easy to understand and leaves no doubt about your meaning. After all, if you make your audience question what you’re saying, then they will probably have trouble agreeing with you.

Communicating effectively means creating messages that are clear and resonate with your audiences. Frame your message in terms of shared values, and don’t make them ask questions or work to decipher your meaning. Make it easy for them to understand, nod along, and say yes!

March 16, 2016 4 Comments