No matter what role you have in your company, from entry level to executive, culture matters. An important building block of a healthy company culture is honest and direct communication. Using my “communication compass”TM as a guiding principle to enforce and encourage healthy culture. This is leadership 101. It goes like this:

One way to look at communication is to understand  the dynamics of communicating up, laterally and down.  

Communicate Up

Leaders communicate  upwards to whomever  they report to.  This could be the Board of directors, in the case of “C” level, or a key company leader  in the case of a Director level leader.  In all cases, communication can establish and reinforce trust though transparency.

Lateral communication

Mindful communication laterally to peers builds a solid framework for collaboration. Look for ways to collaborate and “succeed together.” If you are not “vibing” with a college, find a way to have a private conversation. Start the conversation with a simple question: How can we collaborate better? Open the conversation and listen. Building a collaborate, open communication channel pays great dividends over time.

Downline Communication

Communicating downline to direct reports guides and empowers.  The message should be always inspiring. Even with tough decisions, large workloads, or complex work, look to guide and inspire your direct reports.

This the communication compass.