CHAPTER 2

Responsiveness

My dad managed the local office of a regional Bell System operating company, and did so through the 1984 divestiture of AT&T and beyond. Being an involved parent, a telephone industry official and a communicator at heart, he had clear expectations with me and my siblings. He expected a phone call whenever we might be late getting home from an evening out with friends. Dad believed in communication and responsibility.

One summer night, my high school buddies and I were out well past sundown. They had picked me up at my house earlier in the evening. After driving out in the country, the guys shared with me that they had snuck booze out of their parents’ homes. I did not drink, and this was my first run-in with alcohol. I was confused, mad, and, to be honest, scared.

Had I driven myself that night, I would have just left immediately. But, I was at the mercy of these friends. Peer pressure at play, I didn’t have the guts to demand a ride home, or even to the nearest pay phone to call my parents. (This was long before the days of cell phones.) I successfully avoided drinking and eventually got home safely, apologizing profusely to Dad. He didn’t dress me down. Seeing that I was visibly upset, Dad listened and was empathetic. But then he simply said, “Next time, don’t be sorry. Be right.” With that advice, Dad was off to bed, leaving me standing alone in a darkened kitchen.

That simple lesson from long ago applies so well to leadership and responsible communication in business today. Don’t be sorry for allowing situations to get out of control, or that push you and those around you ­toward trouble. Instead, be right. That means: do the right thing; stay laser-focused on your values, commitments, and responsibilities; remain fully engaged; monitor situations and respond immediately to issues as they develop; speak up firmly; and truly take ownership. Likewise, be there for your team, just as my dad was for me that night. Listen. Be empathetic. Offer constructive feedback and advice. Then move on, giving your team members the time and space necessary to reflect upon and integrate key lessons from important coaching moments. In short, strive to be the kind of leader and communicator that Dad was for me.

Not communicating? Not taking responsibility? Not responding to changing situations? For you, and for any other leader, those are simply not options these days. We live and work in a fast-paced economy and technology-fueled society. You can’t sit meekly in the proverbial back seat, and still consider yourself a leader. You can’t be quiet when the voice of reason needs to be heard. You can’t sit idly as those around you take actions that may put themselves and others, especially the public, at risk. As Grossman (2010), a leading expert on communication inside organizations, so eloquently states: “You can’t not communicate.”

Step up and respond. That’s what leaders do.

Defining Responsible Communication and Responsiveness

Before we get too far along, let’s more fully define “responsible communication.” Sending a mass email is not responsible communication. Neither is simply attaching your name to a blog entry, news release, or social media post. Delivering a speech or hammering through an agenda without adapting to the audience’s reaction? Hosting weekend conference calls because you couldn’t orchestrate effective conversations during the work week? These don’t really constitute responsible communication, either.

What, then, is responsible communication? Answering that question requires dissecting the phrase into its two foundational words: responsibility, and communication.

Communication is an active process of two-way exchange. It’s as much, if not more, about listening, monitoring, and responding, than it is simply talking, sending, or posting. Communication is never just one-way. If you think sending an e-mail message is communicating, you’re wrong. That’s nothing more than transmitting information. Likewise, telling someone what to do, or how to do their job, is not communicating. That’s essentially just dictating orders.

Remember this important point: Communication is dialogue, not monologue. You communicate when you listen to someone and respond to the information they have shared with you in return. That listening process would ideally happen face-to-face, and in-person. But, you may also “listen” by carefully reading a report or message, by monitoring the body language of those attending a meeting or presentation, or paying attention to industry developments that are gaining attention with investors, in the news, or on social media. Responding involves clarifying your understanding of that information, and providing the sender or another appropriate stakeholder with meaningful interpretation and purposeful insight.

Chances are good that you truly communicate for at least a good portion of your day. But, it is not easy to focus, to stay tuned in, and to be fully responsive. There is so much information coming at us these days, and that is only compounded when you lead an organization, department, or team.

What about responsible communication, though? How does responsible communication differ from our traditional understanding of communication, as outlined above? Responsible communication means taking ownership of, and accountability for clear, candid, and consistent dialogue about values-based decisions. In other words, demonstrating daily that you sincerely care about ethical, moral, and social values, and all of the internal and external stakeholders who have a vested interest in your organization, institution, jurisdiction, or cause.

Let’s say your company intentionally establishes some of its retail locations in urban neighborhoods that need gentrification. Doing so is not entirely consistent with your brand position, much of which is targeted at suburban households. Yet, as a company you value community and feel some sense of utilitarian duty to support the greatest good for all, even if these retail locations are not profitable and drag down overall company performance. Responsible communication would mean talking openly and candidly about the values-driven reasons for being in nontraditional markets, and for justifying losses that might otherwise mean higher wages for company employees, greater returns for investors, and a more impressive bottom line for financial news reporters to trumpet. This process would also involve listening intently to constructive feedback, taking to heart the concerns being expressed, and addressing them as honestly as possible, regardless of whether the decision will ultimately be reversed or not.

Simply put, responsible communication means listening and responding to stakeholders, and truly living your values daily. This is the essence of solid leadership. Sounds easy enough, right? Not exactly, as you likely know from your own leadership experiences.

In business, we think of responsiveness as a competitive advantage, an approach we take to customer needs, in order to stay ahead of the competition (Martin and Grbac 2003). Applied to your leadership role, think of responsiveness as an approach you take to stakeholder needs, in order to maintain their commitment and enthusiasm. Let’s consider a simple ­example. It is easy to fire off a response to a subordinate’s e-mail, or dismiss an idea shared during a conference call or team meeting. When considering responsiveness as part of responsible communication and leadership, though, that’s not what should come to mind. Responsiveness, rather, means being accessible and affirmative in the moment, while acknowledging that a fully realized opinion or decision will likely take more time and input. Your primary job as a responsible communicator is not to plow through conversations and e-mails, but rather to provide access to information, to acknowledge others’ contributions, and to motivate stakeholders of all kinds to continue being advocates for your organization. Define for others how responsive you intend to be, given normal circumstances, and in times of escalation, emergency, or crisis; likewise, seek clarity about how responsive others can be to your needs (Hyatt 2011).

Why Responsiveness Matters

In the ART of responsible communication, responsiveness is just as important as accessibility or transparency. What good is it to be approachable and open, if you don’t respond to the needs coming your way? Yes, responsible communication is truly an ART, more than a science. You have to find courage in the moments, and to engage in a truly dynamic, two-way fashion.

The process of voicing and fostering moral-based values requires considerable self-discipline and self-motivation (Gentile 2010). You can’t just react to a situation or opportunity from a technical or tactical view. You are in a position of power and influence; you have to think things through end-to-end, and the beginning of that process should always be grounded in values. The trick is that the greater your responsibilities at work ­become, the more difficult this process becomes. You may have moved into management with the very best of intentions. You may have been incredibly thoughtful and responsive in those early days. But, the demands escalate as the days go by, and soon you are stretched so thin that there seems no or little opportunity for reflection, or for truly conscious values-grounded leadership and responsible, responsive communication.

Reflect for a minute now, though. Just think how many people rely on you every day. They can’t do their best work, or even good work, without direction, approval, and/or a clear path. They also can’t work for a greater good without someone reminding them of the values underpinning their work tasks. You owe it to your employees, and to yourself, to be fully ­engaged. That means giving voice to values, embracing criticism, addressing concerns, responding to pushback, and so much more. Yes, this kind of communication takes time and attention. But, the need for this investment is unquestionable. In a traditional examination of business success, responsiveness to customers is often identified as being essential (Martin and Grbac 2003). This book argues that responsiveness matters not only with customers and prospective customers, but with all of your internal and stakeholders. You must respond to those who have a vested interest in your organization. Fail to, and so, too, will your business likely fail, or, at the very least, seriously struggle.

Are values like responsibility and responsiveness truly that important, at least on a day-to-day basis? Studies suggest yes. Seems that what really holds the pieces together today for organizations, despite ever-increasing diversity and differentiation among stakeholders, is rich dialogue grounded in moral, social, and cultural values (von Groddek 2011). Consider a philanthropic gift by your company to a community organization that works with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered youth. There will be supporters and critics of such a donation, both within your organization and in the broader community. Such a donation may not have been fathomable a decade or two ago, and may still be considered inappropriate or even offensive by socially conservative citizens today. The reality is that the world is a much more diverse and inclusive place these days. You may even wonder how anyone could question such a charitable gift. Still, what’s important is to ground decisions and communication in important discussions of moral, social, and/or cultural values. What does your company stand for today? How does this gift align with these values? How can you best share the news of this decision in a way that clarifies the values behind the decision, while keeping the door open to important dialogue with the community about these values and their relative importance? This does not mean making decisions by consensus, constantly bending to public criticism, or, worse yet, being unresponsive to stakeholders’ input. What it means is knowing where your organization stands, value-wise, and then standing proudly yet not defiantly.

As a leader, you must embrace dialogue and debate, and stay responsive. Feedback from stakeholders is a sign they care. You want their passion, whether that’s positive in spirit or more negative and constructive in nature. What you don’t want in your stakeholders is apathy. Stakeholders must care about your organization, in order for growth to happen over time. Think of your company like a public school district; people invest their money and confidence in administrators and teachers, and they expect and deserve favorable outcomes in return. No matter the kind of organization you’re managing, fostering dynamic, daily dialogue is key; it’s also your responsibility as a values-based leader.

Act with Good Intent

It’s no secret that with leadership comes power and influence. Nearly ­everything you do and say has some sort of impact. You may not think little things matter, particularly in day-to-day matters, but they absolutely do.

Let me share a story. Early in my career, I earned my first opportunity to write an executive speech for a chief executive officer. He was to deliver this speech to a national sales team, as part of an annual sales conference. This was his one chance per year to address all of the regional executives and their salespeople. The conference was roughly six weeks away, at the time the speechwriting process started.

To my surprise, the executive would not meet with me personally to discuss the speech or his expectations. I’m not sure whether he simply trusted me, or he felt this was a routine speech that did not require much of his personal investment. Regardless, I had to operate off handwritten notes from the CEO, provided to me by his administrative assistant. In turn, the CEO would not review an outline of the research I had conducted into how the sales team felt about certain pressing industry and organizational issues. What should have been a responsible communication process between a CEO and his speechwriter became nothing short of a communication breakdown.

Ultimately, the speech went through 16—yes, 16!—rounds of revisions. Was my writing not yet mature enough? Likely. Could I have been more assertive about getting face time with the CEO to discuss this speech? Perhaps. Still, every relationship is a 50–50 street. Half of the blame fell on this executive, who didn’t ground in his behavior in the stated values of the organization, which included teamwork. He would not collaborate, and the process became so much more cumbersome than necessary. He selfishly cost the company an unnecessary amount of my time and, most importantly, put at risk his rapport with the sales team at this once-per-year opportunity to rally the troops.

The speech ultimately was delivered at the sales conference, and was met with positive response from those in attendance. The behind-the-scenes struggles didn’t show through in the final delivery. It may come as no surprise, though, that this CEO is no longer a CEO. He wasn’t one to take responsibility regarding communication or respond appropriately to subordinates’ needs, and those were ultimately fatal flaws.

Even if you are not a CEO, you exercise considerable power and control every day—by what you share, how you share it, when you share it, and with whom. Never ever underestimate the power of your words and actions, as well as the power of your silence, distance, and unresponsiveness. How do you treat the people in your organization, especially those who are not anywhere near your rank in title? What values do you bring forth in how you conduct yourself at work?

Power can be used in subtle, yet highly impactful ways. Consider ­tobacco company Philip Morris and its public outreach in the 1990s. As health concerns and anti-tobacco activism rose among the public, the company worked to redefine the way in which it wished to be judged. Philip Morris pulled back from conversations about health issues, and shifted focus, instead, to philanthropy (Meyer and Kirby 2010; Murphy 2005; Oliveira 2009). This was, in essence, a power play. By appealing to social values such as community and partnership, Philip Morris worked to shift the public conversation away from the health concerns associated with smoking. Have you ever shifted attention to appease others? Worse yet, have you shifted values to make a broader appeal? A responsible leader is clear and consistent on values, and communicates consistent with values-based decisions.

There have been instances when companies upload videotaped statements from executive spokespersons to the Internet, for public viewing, regarding allegations of internal corruption, embezzlement, and the like, rather than being directly responsive to news reporters. There may be legal restrictions at play, of course. However, the underlying strategy is to make the organization seem transparent and responsive, without having to answer reporters’ questions and risk going off-message. Thus, in the absence of information and answers that the public most wants and needs, people jump to their own conclusions. That resulting perception can often be far worse than the truth. Putting the organization ahead of the public, then, isn’t necessarily the right answer for anyone involved.

Do you ever try to avoid direct dialogue? Have there been situations in which you played up certain benefits or aspects, in turn drawing attention and focus away from perceived or real negative effects? That kind of leadership behavior is not inherently illegal or even necessarily unethical. However, there can be significant underlying concerns.

Your fundamental communication responsibility is not to protect ego, control messages, and dictate behavior. Rather, you should facilitate dialogue and help people feel safe speaking up and voicing their values. If members of your team feel strongly about what is right in a particular situation but don’t feel confident acting on their convictions, you are failing them as a leader (Gentile 2010, xii).

Pretend you lead a software development firm. There are a few known bugs in a newly released product. You want to do right by customers, but reissuing the product now would be so costly. If you can simply hold off until the next scheduled update release, you will save your company significant money. Meanwhile, your service team is receiving more and more complaints. The service representatives might even be sharing their concerns with one another. However, for some reason, they do not feel confident recommending that a quick-fix update be released now, even though it seems obvious that customers are quickly growing disgruntled. What have you done, or not done, to create an environment where people do not feel confident raising their voices, especially when it comes to customers’ needs and wants? What sort of retribution might they fear, should they openly speak their minds? How have leaders handled their feedback in the past?

Responsible communication is, ultimately, an obligation. In fact, some even define such communication as a contract between individuals. The ground rules include sincerity, relevance, continuity, clarity, prudence, tolerance, openness, prompt resolution, balance, and optimal timing (Dresp-Langley 2009). Can you fire on all of these cylinders all of the time? Likely not. However, you can make a concerted effort to respect as many of these guidelines as possible. A great one to start with is simply being open—open to conversation, open to feedback, open to ideas, open to criticisms.

What may happen if you violate the social contract between you and your employees and other stakeholders? Communication suffers, of course. However, there can be more serious and far-reaching potential impacts. You may impact or even abolish a broad sense of trust, and negatively affect individuals’ self-confidence, particularly junior employees who do not share your hierarchical status or decision-making power (Dresp-Langley 2009). Communication is not dictatorship, after all; communication, especially the responsible kind, is dialogue.

Foster Responsiveness in Others

Executives who excel at communication are exceptional storytellers. They identify anecdotes from their own professional and personal lives, and use these stories to reflect and reinforce the core values of their organization. Of course, these anecdotes help endear these leaders to others inside, and outside of, the organization, by making them seem more real and down-to-earth. ­Stories often stoke a shared frame of reference, which makes it more comfortable for others to speak up and share their own experiences and insights.

But it’s not just charismatic stories that excellent communicators share. They also craft compelling arguments about the direction of the ­organization, drawing on facts, industry analysis, and the link. Finally, these executives are conversational, they listen, and they improvise, ­responding to nonverbal cues such as signs of interest, boredom, confusion, and so on (Forman 2007). This means editing themselves as they speak, and adapting the story to the audience’s reaction and perceived needs.

How many times have you led a meeting during which people are playing with their mobile devices, staring out the window or into space, having side conversations, or doodling on a printed agenda or handout? Don’t feel bad. This happens to the best of us. But, what can you take from such experiences, looking at these situations from a lens of responsible communication? Rather than jabbering away about whatever you planned to discuss, why not simply ask people what they would prefer to hear about, or what is not resonating with them thus far? Better to spend two minutes clarifying the audience’s needs than spending 20 minutes trying to fulfill your own.

What skills do you need to fashion yourself as a solid leader? Business executives consider integrity, communication, and responsibility among the 10 most important qualities or skills for today’s business climate ­(Robles 2012). Integrity means having strong personal values, and consistently doing what is right. Communication involves listening, not just talking. And, responsibility means being accountable, reliable, resourceful, self-disciplined, and conscientious.

What role do values play in all of this? Organizations typically champion values when defining organizational identity, discussing and promoting social responsibility initiatives, or plotting future strategies (Murphy 2005; von Groddeck 2011). As a leader, you should be helping driving value-based communication—not just in these three areas, but, truly, in all aspects of your operations. This kind of leadership requires a fundamental understanding of the fact that responsible communication is never finished. There may not be immediate results, and the steps that helped address or resolve an issue today may not necessarily work down the road (Marken 2001). Communication is dynamic, and, as a leader, you must remain equally dynamic. Together with your stakeholders, ­mutually focus on important issues and value-based decisions, for they are the stories that truly matter.

Organizational environment, technology, roles, and other factors all impact communication leadership (Werder and Holtzhausen 2011). Such facets have an impact on adaptability and authority, especially when it comes to responsible communication. Research suggests that public relations leaders tend to serve as ethics counsel or corporate conscience within their organizations, but do so with little understanding or support from other executives (Bowen 2008). Before picking up this book, have you invested much time in better understanding the tenets of responsible communication? Have you partnered effectively with your corporate communications team, or even thought about how to do so? Have you taken ownership for those aspects of communication clearly within your domain?

As a leader, you absolutely can make a difference when it comes to responsible communication with stakeholders inside and outside of your organization. The next few chapters will show you how.

Reflection Questions

Responsible Actions