Design a matrix communications plan
How can large, sprawling organisations address complex problems quickly and efficiently in a fast-changing business landscape?
The short answer: many of them can’t.
Especially those with traditional, intensely bureaucratic, and hierarchical structures. When information needs to trickle down a sky-high ladder, rung by rung, not only does it take much longer but valuable ideas are also lost along the way.
Understand the speed of the problem
- What are you trying to solve for and how fast is that problem moving? Are you communicating with your organisation at a tempo that will get you ahead of that problem set?
- Consider holding a regular organisation-wide meeting to align understanding, especially if you are working with rapidly changing priorities. Globally distributed organisations may benefit from video teleconferencing.
- Allow participants to take their learnings at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels and move independently until the next meeting.
Get clear on who needs to talk about what
- Think of disparate teams as nodes in the network of communication.
- Encourage real dialogue. Avoid scripted presentations in favor of short Q&A sessions with designated speakers.
- Encourage speakers to talk about what is actually happening on the ground. Encourage questioners to tease out: the speaker’s reasoning, anticipated reactions to a given action, parallel learnings, alternative solutions to a given problem.
- Build a culture that encourages transparency. Leaders are responsible for creating a safe space where people can admit failure, ignorance, and mistakes. Abandon punishment-prone feedback.
Establish a process for a disciplined, dependable cycle
- Distributed doesn’t mean disorganised. Make it clear where decision rights sit and when it’s necessary to get more senior approval.
Over to you
Think of a problem your organisation currently faces.
- How would you describe the “tempo” or pace at which the problem is growing?
- How would you describe the pace at which your relevant teams are communicating about it?
Critical and Strategic Thinking in Practice
Critical and Strategic Thinking in Practice
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