Don't get complacent! Better messaging starts with REAL feedback!

If you always do what you always did - you'll always get what you always got!

This is one of my favorite cliches! It's also linked to a cornerstone of my business - feedback. Here's the thing about getting feedback from people - you have to stop talking, stop formulating responses, and LISTEN! If you truly want to improve, you must care what your audience thinks. If everything is running smoothly and everyone you know is happy - then you probably need to dig a bit deeper to find the truth.

Back in my corporate life, I took on a new role leading communication, and one of the first things I knew I could improve was the effectiveness of our CEO's town hall messaging. I had more than a decade of experience with team town halls - in person, recorded, broadcast live, simulcasted, and every combination of these structures. Reaching the right audience with the right message is my jam! And, I am very good at this part.

You already know that I don't believe in mandatory meetings - because I think that's a cop-out. If you don't have something important to say, then stay quiet. If the details don't matter - send an email. If you don't know how to make your meetings informative and interesting - hire a comms person. Figure out a way to be so good at presenting that people find value and WANT to attend your meetings. That's how you make an impact.

I lean into feedback hard! When everyone says "That was great!" I go looking for the quiet guy in the corner and the shy lady from accounting to find out what they heard. I dig deep to figure out how messages are being received. I also work hard to be friendly and approachable, keep confidences close, and follow up when I promise to do something. This builds my credibility and this means people trust me and share things with me - even when they might have negative things to say. They sometimes hesitate to be honest - but I push a bit and earn their trust - and ultimately get to hear what they think, for real!

So back to the town halls - the meetings were boring. About 90% of the information was available on the website or the intranet, and about 50% of the information was tied to results and performance and our CEO talked right over the heads of many who were listening. Those who understood the details of what he was sharing didn't need the townhall - and felt the meeting was a waste of their time (often multitasked during the meeting). Those who didn't understand felt stupid or let their attention drift because they felt their jobs didn't contribute to the goals our CEO was discussing.

When I came in, I spent the first few months watching, learning, and talking to people, and then I listened - to hear what they thought, and what they wanted. Eventually, I understood what the team needed from these town halls, and I made a plan to revamp the meeting - because that was why they hired me, or so I thought.

I proposed a pretty big change to the format of the meeting and planned a kick-off town hall to launch the new format. This included round-robin presentations from multiple leaders of different business units. I provided a template that was clear and easy to follow. I gave very specific areas for each leader to cover, for consistency across the presentation and I gave the CEO a small portion of the meeting to go over his usual info to keep some continuity from the old way of hosting town halls.

The new format was a hit - people liked it. They were excited about the new information, they thought I captured a topic that others wanted to know more about, and they liked the variety of speakers. Once the recording was posted, people commented on the recordings, and lots of thumbs-ups and hearts showed up. Attendance grew at the next town hall.

Unfortunately, the next town hall went back to the old format. Why, you might ask? Because the CEO believed his information was more important, and he insisted that constant repetition was the [only?] way to get people to learn and understand information. When I shared the feedback I received from the "new" town hall - his response was "[name redacted - one of his direct reports] thought [his] way was better".

Ummmm, ok.

I followed up with [redacted] and she said, "[He] believes that repetition is important, and he's in charge. It's important to let him do his thing. He loves speaking to the team, be glad he's willing to put himself out there."

Ummmm, what?

This is a great reminder of how important it is to LISTEN to people and seek out feedback from places that aren't in your immediate circle.

• Comms leaders, ask the questions, find the quiet people, build trust, and read between the lines to get real, true insights as to how your messages are landing. Better messaging starts with REAL feedback.

• Executive leaders, branch out beyond your leadership teams to ensure you are talking to everyone, not just to the people you talk to every day. You won't learn what your team really thinks unless you get to know them, hear their concerns, ask questions, and be willing to change.

• Employees, be willing to share how you feel about the information you are receiving. If you don't feel like you can tell your manager directly, find someone else with influence who will listen to you! Leave a note for HR or Comms - you don't have to sign it. The only way for us to know what you need is when you share.

Every comms leader I know is ready, willing, and able to do better. We all try to make things more interesting, relevant, and helpful. When you get the chance - give honest feedback! If something is broken, offer an idea to improve. When you don't understand, ask questions - chances are you are not the only one!

And remember, if you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got! We can all keep getting better every single day!