Many companies currently present a paradoxical picture: communicative activity dominates at the top – CEO messages, town halls, strategy slides. But orientation remains scarce. Employees hear a lot, but understand little. This is not a “communication problem” in the sense of a lack of content, but an everyday problem: what does this mean for us – today, in the team, in the project?
(Too) many relationship spaces remain closed
Many organizations continue to invest in channels, even though they need to invest in relationship spaces. Internal communication is not only effective in posts or memos, but much more so in interpersonal relationships: in dialogue between managers and teams, in prioritization rounds, in dealing with conflicting requirements.
A look at the internal communication operating system shows four rooms:
- Corporate space: strategies, programs, guidelines – with a wide reach, but abstract.
- Line space: leadership translates, prioritizes and classifies. The most effective and at the same time most heavily loaded space.
- Team/peer space: Teams as communities of interpretation – this is where people check, evaluate and decide whether something makes sense.
- Project space: Where change becomes concrete and decisions are implemented.
Many companies professionalize room 1 – but largely ignore rooms 2-4. Orientation is then missing exactly where it is needed: in the direct exchange between manager and team. Even the best CEO message falls flat if this bridge is missing.
This has consequences: For this reason, transformation does not fail due to a lack of strategies, but due to a lack of orientation in the line, team and project.
Communication must therefore not produce more formats, but open up and strengthen these spaces.Many organizations still think of communication too much as a broadcasting task and invest more in channels than in leadership skills.
This creates clarity in complexity
In phases of intensive change, the desire for transparency grows. However, transparency does not mean “saying everything”, but rather explaining and classifying what is relevant. Four questions provide orientation:
- What was decided?
- Why like this?
- What happens next?
- What is still open?
This structure makes complexity manageable – and is a key management task today.
In order for leadership to achieve this, it needs support: communication security, dialog spaces, networking, team-oriented formats, empowerment.
Translated into practice, this means
- Formulate messages in such a way that they work in team discussions.
- Design dialog formats so short that they take place (15 instead of 90 minutes).
- Give leadership a clear logic: What can remain open – and what must be answered?
- Networking managers to share experiences.
Ultimately, structures create a framework – but not orientation. The decisive infrastructure of modern transformation is created in the relationship spaces of an organization. This is where it is decided whether change is understood, supported and implemented.
For managers, orientation is often condensed into a few simple questions: What is actually connected here? What is the overarching story behind the many initiatives? And what can – or must – I tell my team about it? It is precisely at these points that it is decided whether communication works or fizzles out.
Together with our customers, we also take a close look at where a better channel would help – and where stronger management support is needed.
Feel free to call us or write to hello@montua-partner.de.