Part 7 and tell me when to shut up. This is about internal communication. But first a caveat - I am fully aware that I get this wrong sometimes - I'm learning like the rest of us - but this is a reflection on where I am now.

What does transparency in business actually mean. I was challenged once by a very smart guy - looking at you David Ventura - to define what I meant by transparency. ‘Totally transparent about everything he asked?’ - ‘Well no’ I said, ‘there are limits so perhaps slightly opaque when it comes to some financial and commercial info’. David’s very valuable point was that transparency is a zero sum game and you can’t claim to be it, if you ain’t it.

And whilst there will always be ‘some’ under the bonnet info that I don’t share with the whole team all the time, perhaps it’s best to describe us as ‘open’ and ’, as ‘sharing’ but what does that even mean? Finding a pattern of internal comms that is at the same time useful, motivating and inclusive as far is practical is both a personal preference and a business necessity. Our ‘No Horror Stories’ value is built from this commitment whilst also strengthening the need of it.

Personally, I’m more comfortable sharing info rather than gatekeeping it. If you want your team to take responsibility and be as fully motivated as possible, I believe you start with a clear idea of what the business is and how we grow it together. Open with success and open with problems. The former is easy, the later is hard but both sides of the coin need to spin in the air regardless of where it falls each time.

So what of FortyTwo, how has this preference manifested itself into our day-to-day? There may be other examples but, in the interests of ‘sharing’ here’s a breakdown of the main things:

• Annual Review and Strategy Session - what did we do, what do we do next, how does it into the bigger picture.
• Summer ‘Half-way’ Progress report of said annual strategy - what’s worked so far, what’s not?
• Regular team 1-2-1 - Less about performance review (other ongoing conversations and the annual appraisal does that) more about how things are going in general.
• Fortnightly Newsletter from me - latest business news, leads, wins, notes from conferences, industry reports and insights or anything else that speaks of progress. Better than the collective dozens of chat notes or emails all week and ensures that everyone gets the same info at the same time.
• Plus of course, the more informal chats through the day and weeks as you would expect.

Always leading with the ‘why’

Here’s why I’m looking at us to focus on this area of business.

Then encourage (nay expect) the team to deeply contribute to the how, what and who.

Leading with the ‘why’ is usually based on improving the business or aligning with the bigger purpose but whilst I may have clear ideas of how to get there, I need the team to wade in and play their part too. The people at the coal-face help solve any issue as they are there when it happens! They must feel they can influence it and take appropriate ownership - this won’t happen if I try to provide all the answers in the first place.

Share the opportunity and/or challenge.

Be clear on the why.

Have a broad plan but invite and expect the team to contribute deeply and run with it.

None of this happens if you shelter people from the truth or micro-manage. To paraphrase a famous idiom - ‘treat success and failure as the same odd bedfellows’ - that goes with the chat too. You have to cover the more difficult topics as well as the easy and fun.

— Mark

mark@fortytwo.studio.

Follow the latest from FortyTwo Studio on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.