Communicates Effectively

This week's post was written by Jack Woelber.

Do you know how much pressure there is in writing a blog about effective communication? How ironic is it that we need to communicate about communication? Communication is so basic and yet so critical in everything that we do. Often, when troubles arise, we can boil it down to poor communication.

You have heard the saying, “It takes two to tango.” Well, the same holds true for communication; it takes two. Successful communication only occurs when something has been shared and its meaning has been received. It doesn’t matter if that communication is spoken, written, in a power point, in a video, etc.; if the meaning of the message is not received, successful communication hasn’t happened. So whose responsibility is it to ensure successful communication? Leaders think about successful communication in two ways – giving and receiving. We often think of the giver as having the majority of the responsibility in communication. While that is critical, the receiver also plays a major role.

Let’s first discuss receiving. Receiving or listening is active. You need to be fully engaged, seeking to understand the meaning of what is being shared. As leaders, we need to keep the environment “safe” for those who are sharing. Sometimes this takes patience. Sometimes it takes self-control. There may be times when we don’t agree with what is being said, but, nonetheless, we have an obligation to actively listen and make sure people know they have been heard. There are several techniques for making sure you have heard the true intent of what has been shared. One example is to repeat back, in your own words, what you have heard. Of course, not all forms of communication allow this kind of interaction, but active listening to any form of medium requires your full attention.

The other responsibility in effectively communicating is giving or sharing information. I have had to remind myself multiple times that “just because I said it doesn’t mean they heard it.” In order to share information appropriately, you have to know your audience and tailor the information to communicate effectively with them. You may have to say it in multiple ways, multiple times, and in different styles to be sure the message is being received. It might even be wise to go ask someone what they have heard so you can confirm that the message you shared has been received.

Not only is it the responsibility of the leader to share information in an understandable, concise way but also to be wise about what information is being shared. As a leader, you need to discern what and how much information is being shared with your audience. The same information may need to be shared differently (or not at all) with different audiences. As a leader, this can be a challenge, especially when you are dealing with multiple generations that want and expect different levels of information.

While communication happens every day in myriad ways, it is not always effective or appropriate. As a leader, you have a great responsibility in making sure you can understand the message given to you as well as sharing the appropriate amount of information in an understandable way to diverse groups of people.

Continue leading the Interstates Way!
Jack Woelber

Casts Vision

This week's post was written by Doug Post.

Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl shared that the single most significant factor for survival was a sense of future vision, a conviction that one still had important work to do. Vision is the ability to see beyond our present reality, to create, to invent what does not yet exist, to become what we not yet are.

"Interstates leaders are tireless believers in people," is how I remember Jim Franken, our CEO in the 1990s, kicking off his vision for a "new" Interstates that focused on leadership development. This was a startling change for a company previously focused on technical expertise. Through sharing his vision at company forums, leading us all through a book review of The 21 Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell, and by hiring non-technical leaders, Jim cast his vision for leadership at Interstates, and it became ours. After his untimely death, his direct reports were instrumental in continuing his vision through what we know today as our Excellence in Leadership (EIL) series of courses.

Jim developed and shared a compelling vision for leadership at Interstates. It was timely, enabling opportunity-seeking employees to contribute. He was persistent, always reminding us to lead better. He was inspiring, convincing us that we could contribute more than we thought possible. He was motivating, driving growth like we hadn't been a part of before.

In sum, great leaders cast a vision for their people so that:

• They have a purpose larger than themselves.
• They know where they are going.
• They can create what doesn't yet exist.
• They are empowered to perform beyond their resources.

You do not need to be CEO to cast a compelling vision. Interstates leaders understand their staff's current state and connect their department or project team's goals to the Interstates' WHY by making it practical for their people’s day-to-day work. If you are a PM, begin your project meetings with a discussion on how they are "making a difference with our clients," or ask, "Are we really understanding their needs?" If you lead a department or a team, do training goals and internal processes reflect a commitment to our vision?

I encourage you to frequently look beyond today to your picture of the future. Each day, make time to have one conversation or to take one step toward a better tomorrow.

Continue leading the Interstates Way - turn our vision into reality!
Doug Post

Networking Is Serving Clients?

This week's post was written by Dave Crumrine.

The title of this post may seem like an odd statement. It struck me as odd, too, when the Sr. Leaders worked through selecting what the essential elements were for leadership here at Interstates. Why did we include this? The answer is found deep in our culture. At our core, we are experts. Proud of our ability to really know the ins and outs of the industries in which we participate. We strongly connect what we know to what we are able to offer the client in terms of expert advice.

To be experts at the trusted advisor level, we need to know what is happening in our industries. What are the issues challenging the businesses we are trying to support? It may not matter that is has little to do with electrical engineering or construction. To get in touch with this kind information, we must get both a broad and deep understanding of the issues. When we do, we become trusted advisors to our clients.

You see, networking by definition is building relationships. As in "Building Relationships Through…Dependability, Integrity, Trust, Quality, and Family." The key idea here (and we sometimes miss this when discussing our core values) is Building Relationships. To build effective relationships, we need to know about clients' problems, challenges, and big opportunities. In other words, networking provides many of the seeds we use to develop our client relationships.

This takes an investment. Sometimes it's time and travel. Sometimes it's sponsorship. Sometimes it is staff that could be more productive elsewhere. But, it is essential that networking happen. When we are "out there," we hear what is happening; we interact with clients and can test assumptions and listen for opportunities to serve. If we were Navy Seals, it would be "recon" for our mission of serving our clients. In addition, when clients see us contributing to their industries, they see us as being “in it with them" – an important perception when trying to connect with clients.

A final word on networking: The information gathered must be processed and shared to be effective. Networking cannot just be glad-handing and cocktails without follow-up or thought. Information gathered needs to be synthesized with other conversations and discussed in a forum with others so that it will allow us to react, to help, and to change our approach. This may be one of the more difficult parts of networking, as opportunities seldom present themselves plainly as "we need to do..."

Even though the challenges around networking are substantial, the need for networking is great. It is truly a key element of leading at Interstates.

Continue leading the Interstates Way!
Dave Crumrine