Have you ever wondered why there is so much emphasis on the need for leaders to use well-structured formal messages in their communication with all stakeholders? Well, that is because centuries of experience have taught us that a lot can go wrong when leaders take shortcuts. In Strategic Leadership, we share the reasons why formal messages are so important and go a step further in breaking down how you can structure persuasive messages that avoid the common communication pitfalls.
Why Use Formal Messages as a Leader?
Many leaders tone down their authority within their organizations so as not to come across as too authoritative. Some figure that this helps them create a conducive environment where employees and other stakeholders can come to them for help or with ideas. Others think that taking on this approach motivates their employees to clock in and put in the work. The reasons vary, and it seems to work for the most part, save for when leaders tone down their authority so much that it also hampers their communication.
How so? In their bid to be friendly or appear ‘cool’ to their employees, some leaders resort to using vague messaging. But while this may seem like it makes you appear less aggressive or tight-fisted, it poses a few challenges, as follows:
It Creates a Guessing Game
As a leader, it is your job to tell people exactly what you want and when you want it. This way, people are clear about your expectations and what they need to do to meet them. If you fail to be clear, many people will just try to make sense of what you said. Unfortunately, in light of ambiguity, it is not uncommon for people to come up with entirely different conclusions, which hurts their performance and, in turn, affects your effectiveness within the organization.
Take the example of a case where a leader wants the IT team to audit files from 2024 and keep what is necessary, and archive the other files. With this in mind, they email the IT manager, “We need to clear space on the server. Just get rid of the old stuff from 2024.” What do you think the IT manager would do? They would likely delete the entire archive, all because the leader was not clear about what they really wanted.
It Dilutes Your Authority
Being a friendly boss or innovative leader is a great thing. But when you lean into this so much that your communication becomes unclear, people have a hard time relying on you for direction. What’s more, they may even start disregarding your directions because they do not know when the brainstorming ends and your stance starts. And this affects your ability to lead.
It Introduces Inconsistencies
Organizations run best when their employees have the same script. You want all departments on the same page when it comes to organizational values and the milestones you have in place. But without formal communication, these departments may be chasing completely different goals because they have no idea where you stand. It gets even worse during a crisis. With no formal messaging in play, people have a hard time proving what was said, who said it, why they said it, when they said it, and so on. And these inconsistencies hurt people’s abilities to perform because they barely have a clue as to what’s correct.
How to Build Messages That Align and Persuade
Informal messages may seem great on paper, but in reality, they cause more chaos than is necessary. Take the example of a leader who thinks of a project idea and messages a manager at 5 pm on Friday with, “Hey, we need to talk. See you Monday morning?” The manager, on receiving the message and seeing the wave, would likely think that they were about to get fired or demoted. After all, what else could that message mean? Yet to the leader, it would seem like a friendly invite to a brainstorming session.
Ambiguity and inconsistency reign when informal messaging is at play. Luckily, you can avoid these issues by adopting a formal messaging culture. We look at how to construct these messages.
Step 1: Develop Your Core Narrative
Every business has a story that goes beyond its profits and products, and instead, it ties to its purpose. As a leader, you need to remind your customers, employees, and investors about this bigger picture, as it helps them understand why you are making certain decisions. The more they can relate your approach to your mission, the easier it is to foster loyalty among them.
But how do you do it? First, define why the business exists. Then, identify the problem or desire that you want to solve before talking about how you will do this and what makes your approach unique. And finally, explain how this will affect the stakeholders in your business.
Here is an example of a business definition: “Our bakery was formed in order to bring back traditions and warmth to the table in a world full of mass-produced food. By handcrafting every loaf of bread and using locally sourced ingredients, we are able to meet the individual needs of our clients while also supporting our local economy. A loaf of bread from our bakery not only nourishes families but also tells a story about care and community.”
With such an introduction, you can then move on to what you want to change or introduce and how it will affect your stakeholders.
Step 2: Come Up With Key Message Pillars
Leaders may be essential in guiding their employees, investors, and customers, but they also need to have measures in place that serve this purpose even in their absence. And these are the pillars that you use to shape every message, be it a boardroom meeting or a press release.
Here is how you come up with these pillars. Start by selecting three to five distinct but complementary themes that are a reflection of your organizational values. Then, as you build on the narrative we covered in step 1, use these pillars as a way to filter out the information such that each message reinforces these pillars.
Take the example of a handmade jewelry store. Its key pillars could be craftsmanship, individuality, sustainability, and legacy. So, any changes it makes must be a reflection of these values. And the communication must echo the same, so that the organization always sets its sights on these pillars.
Step 3: Present Proof Points
As much as your team may trust you, it is not uncommon for people to be skeptical, especially when you are talking about making big changes. A great way to get them on your side is to provide them with evidence. Whether it is third-party validation, data from your own business, or testimonials from happy customers, people want to see what makes you think that your idea will work out.
Start by gathering quantitative data, where possible. Examples include sales, market reach, and so on. Then, add qualitative data, such as customer stories, reviews on public platforms, user-generated content on social media, etc. Finally, build on this with awards, certifications, or any other proof of third-party validation. Regardless of what you use, make sure that your information is accurate, verifiable, and straight to the point.
Say, for example, that you run a successful supermarket chain. Your proof points can be things like ‘we now have 40 stores nationwide serving 1 million customers each month’ or ‘compared to our competitors, we save households 10% on average.’
These proof points transform what may sound like empty marketing into a convincing message that makes people believe in your vision.
Step 4: Segment Your Audience
Stakeholders in your organization may seem like they are in the same boat, but in truth, they care about very different things. Your employees, for starters, care about their job security, promotions, and earnings, while your customers want value. You need to ensure that, as you communicate the organizational narrative, you do so in a way that addresses each audience’s pain points so that they feel involved in the changes.
Now, this is where the nuances come into the picture. First, you will need to identify all your primary audiences, from your employees to your customers and investors. Next, you will look into their key priorities and pain points. Then, you will adjust your language and proof points to match each audience while still holding on to the same pillars we discussed in step 2. Also, be ready for different objectives from each audience and think of ways to address them before making your presentation.
For our example, let’s use a marketing company that is about to merge with a smaller marketing brand. Their clients would focus on the return from their investments, their investors would want to know about the revenue streams, and their employees would have concerns about their creative freedom and their career growth.
By treating every audience differently, you ensure that your communication touches on everyone’s needs, which makes it more effective than using a blanket statement to cover everyone.
Step 5: Be Consistent Across Channels
Leaders use various methods to communicate with people, from email to press releases to meetings. And sometimes, leaders, or their spokespeople, change the messages based on the platforms. Unfortunately, doing so leaves room for mistrust as audiences start questioning your reliability as a source of information, as they keep hearing and seeing different things. You want to avoid this by being consistent regardless of where you are sharing your message.
It all starts with developing a document that entails your organizational narrative, pillars, proof points, and the adaptations you have created for each audience. Then, share this with your spokespeople while explaining why they need to follow the given format and use consistent language. While it is okay for them to adapt the message based on the platforms, e.g., TikTok versus a TV interview, make it clear that the core message must remain the same. And make sure that you audit the communications to ensure that everyone is on track.
Example of Message Architecture
We have covered the basics of structuring formal messages that eliminate ambiguity within the organization. But how would this play out in everyday life? Let’s use the example of the bakery we touched on in step 1 and create its complete message architecture. In this case, we will suppose that the bakery is making a price change due to the rise in the cost of ingredients.
The Core Narrative
Building on what we covered in step 1, the narrative would include: ‘Even as the cost of ingredients rises, we believe in providing our customers with the best quality of food without compromising on our long-standing traditions or the taste of our products.’
The Key Pillars
We center our business on quality, transparency, community, and value. As such, we do not take shortcuts when it comes to our ingredients or craftsmanship. We ensure that our customers are aware of where we source our ingredients and why we make price changes, we support our local communities by sourcing supplies and ingredients from them, and we ensure that our loaves are nourishing, comforting, and an ode to our local traditions.
The Proof Points
In our 17 years of operation, we have kept our original recipes unchanged, donated unsold bread to the local shelters, and maintained a 95% customer satisfaction score on and off our website. Additionally, in that time, we have sourced 90% of our flour and dairy from local farms while staffing our bakery with only local bakers.
The Segmentation
While our prices will go up by 5% in the coming month, we want to assure our customers that we will continue providing them with the same taste and transparency we have in the past. To our employees, this price change will not dampen your job security. For the suppliers, we look forward to long-term partnerships, and to our community, we will continue supporting you through donations in both bread and funds.
The Consistency
Every communication will touch on the price change in some way while emphasizing value, e.g., a blog post explaining the rise in cost of ingredients, or a simple social media post that says, ‘Same recipes, same quality – even when the costs go up.’