“This is the first time that I have worked with consultants who engage authentically. Innolect gained the trust of the team and took personal interest in the outcome. Promises made were promises kept; they raised our level of self-awareness; exceeded expectations by keeping attention and engaging the team.
CAO – Entergy
Innolect’s Perspective
While most company leaders invest in and pay attention to external brand and positioning strategies, many of these same leaders overlook the value of strategic internal communication practices. Proactive approaches to executive messaging helps build better, more informed work forces as well as more productive workplaces.
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- Refine executive messaging from the listener’s point of view.
- Deliver clear strategic change and transition messages.
- Expand executive presence and ability to tell powerful stories.
- Deliver proactive and intentional communication.
Determining what to communicate, when to communicate, and how to communicate is often left up to individual leaders. Most planned communication focuses on upheavals like major corporate or organization change, layoffs and downsizing, and technological change. Once the initiating focus has been addressed, communication practices usually return to the status quo. Rather than reactive internal communication strategies, we recommend and work with leaders to use communication and cultural messages to their strategic advantage and build coordinated communication strategies and messages with multiple delivery methods.
The Listener’s Perspective
Using a listening perspective and beginning from a place of collaboration, we work with leaders to integrate the organization’s business vision and goals with meaningful communication strategies and tools. We focus on inquiry rather than advocacy using questions to gain insight before addressing desired business outcomes. We partner within clients systems to implement communication strategies to:
- Motivate and engage employees in business strategy.
- Drive radical change and achieve business results.
- Set measurable objectives that connect activities with bottom-line results.
- Communicate more specifically and concretely to influence employee’s behaviors.
- Engage senior leadership to consistently model messages and lead change.
- Build two-way communication channels to focus and deliver key messages effectively.
- Identify internal champions across multiple departments and company functions.
- Involve the right partners (Communications, HR, Marketing, Operations, etc.) across the organization.
- Enlist leader communication to build employee trust and engagement.
- Engage internal communications as a catalyst for culture and leadership transformation.
Communicate with Impact
Effective leaders possess at least one communication asset — and most have developed two or more. Whether it is storytelling, preparedness, clarity, passion, simplicity, authenticity, optimism, empathy, responsiveness, executive presence, or charisma, Innolect works with leaders to understand the strategic communication choices they make in everyday interactions. Great communicators recognize the impact of being “strategic in the moment” with their communication choices in presentations, meetings, and informal interactions. Innolect works with leaders to refine and enhance their communication effectiveness using proprietary assessment tools, including the Listener Preference Profile and Personal Presence Continuum. Targeted coaching and communication workshops include:
- Targeted videotaping and playback;
- Current, field-tested approaches, instructional materials and industry specific exercises (on-the-job shadowing, storytelling, film clips);
- Actual business issues and situations;
- One-to-one and peer feedback; and
- Follow-up coaching to reinforce new skills.