HE is the man we all love to hate. He has (we think) the cushiest job in the company, gets to keep his own office hours, has all the perks and does squat. Ask him to take a whirl at the most menial of task in your department — a job which you know any untrained, nearsighted monkey could do — and he balks. And yet, it is he and not the primate who they have chosen for the top job. The world is definitely not level.

There is not a 40-hour work week that goes by that does not leave you wondering what is your CEO’s ultimate responsibility. Sure, we know that intrinsically his main job is, like the biblical Moses, to lead us out of the harsh wilderness of this lingering recession. That is the sine qua non of course but believe it or not one of the most important part of his job description as the company’s leader, is to be the key communicator. “Now more than ever senior leaders need to realise that their number one job is to be key communicator with their organisation; and for good reason. The velocity, frequency and intensity of changes in the global business arena have elevated dramatically the level of uncertainty, confusion and concern in the workplace — a condition that looks like business as usual from now on,” says Linda Dule, a former communications leader for GE and Allied.

Unfortunately, when we Jamaicans hear leader and communicator in the same sentence we think of a man (or woman) with enough eloquence, fire and infinite sweet talk to banish the cut-back blues. Pure talk — no action — ‘the bagga-mout’ approach to communication. This one does not back up his words with any commitment or action. For example, does he speak loudly and frequently about workplace punctuality and yet he is the last person to arrive in the mornings and the first person to leave in the evenings, ostensibly for “meetings’? Does this describe your boss’ communication style? If it does then he should be banished from the high top, leather swivel chair and made to sit near the kitchen. It gets worse if he urges and implements belt-tightening and yet still glides smoothly behind the steering wheel of his latest company-bought SUV just after the latest round of redundancies.

According to Dule’s article: “one of the most common misconception leaders have about communicating with employees, customers or other key stakeholders, is they think being a better communicator means talking more. Quite the opposite. As a leader the essential skill you need in your communication toolkit is the ability to listen.” Does your CEO’s communication style includes truly listening and not just hearing what is said? Listening is a process that firmly recognises the meaningful existence of the other party. It means that you are at the very least paying attention to their need to be heard. The chief does not have to know your name but must have infinite patience and respect to listen to your point of view.

Is your boss a griper? Does he complain and keep track of how many cups of company-provided coffee/cookies the staff consumes on a daily basis? Worse yet, does he use it as a whipping pole when launching his ‘motivational” tirades? We know that the world is facing ‘Mr Hard Times’ but does the bossman have to descend to the level of keeping track of the company’s hospitality to its employees? Good grief! This is a corporate climate that is bound to incite resentment and fear. If you report to someone like this, feel free to throw imaginary darts at his photos that you find on the company walls. Please note, they have to be imaginary darts.

As a communicator, is your CEO gracious and open-minded to feedback? There are some people in executive management who are not interested in what the staff or customers have to say: good or bad. These few are of the view that the products that the company manufactures will always be in demand and that the company should therefore always be profitable. No need to hear from the ‘masses’. Many employees do not like to speak at staff meetings because they feel that whatever they say, can and will be held against them at the slightest provocation. So they keep their mouths shut. Those who speak (some too much) might use the opportunity for grand-standing and self-aggrandisement, they also use staff meetings as a chance to try out their newly invented words (but that’s another story). As the company’s key communicators, your senior executives should help to create an environment that is encouraging of feedback and dialogue. Feedback from your staff is a gift; you might not always like the wrapping or the content but it is important to take a peek at it. Does it fit or is the giver being malicious? If you create an environment that is welcoming of feedback very quickly you will be able to separate the wheat from the tares and know when you are receiving constructive feedback.

Yvonne Grinam-Nicholson, (MBA, ABC) is a Business Communications Consultant with ROCommunications Jamaica, specialising in business communications and financial publications. She can be contacted at: yvonne@rocommunications.com. Visit her website at www.rocommunications.com and post your comments.