Why Your Internal Communications are Not Landing (& What to Do Instead)
Don't assume you can create alignment and inspire action by simply sharing the facts and demanding next steps.
At some point in your career, you’ll likely have felt the same as Ben Stein did in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. For those of you too young or not yet indoctrinated into this cult favorite, the gist is that he’s speaking into a void.
No one is listening.
No one is engaged.
The funniest (or worst part) is that he doesn’t seem to know or care.
“That’s not me!” you think. But I bet you, it happens more than you realize.
In today’s guide, we’ll talk about what many leaders miss when rolling out internal messaging and how to avoid this issue going forward.
Let’s dive in!
A Story
Mark was a strong leader by many accounts. He set clear targets, hired strong professionals, and was organized and inclusive in how he managed his team. Then came a big strategic shift.
He realized that he needed to combine two departments to become more efficient and be positioned to create more compelling, creative solutions. No jobs were being eliminated, but roles would need to shift and behaviors and mindsets definitely needed to change. This was going to ruffle some feathers and it would take some time to execute.
To build his plan, Mark did what many great leaders do. He first did research on how other organizations have made similar changes. Then he gathered input from his direct reports. He even talked to outside mentors and collaborators before he finally sat down to create a plan to make the change happen.
On the day of the announcement, Mark carefully set aside time before the meeting to prepare one last time. He made sure he was landing his key points, leaving room for questions, and giving everyone clear direction on next steps.
The meeting went well in Mark’s eyes. He was present and made great eye contact. He shared all of the key points and sat in uncomfortable silence for over a minute to give people time for questions. When he concluded, everyone walked out calmly and seemed to return to business as usual at their desks.
A week later, when he asked his two direct report leaders who managed the impacted teams for updates on how the transition was going, they both looked blankly at him. They shared that they were waiting for more guidance and that their teams weren’t clear on why they were making the change and how to do it effectively.
Mark was shocked. He felt he had clearly shared the why for the change and the how to make the change in his presentation.
Why didn’t it land?
Mark went to talk to his coach who asked him some questions:
Did he ensure that the team understood what he was sharing with them?
Did Mark feel that his direct reports believed in the change? Did he think they were equipped to transfer that belief (if they had it) to their teams?
Mark’s coach was guiding him to use the KUBA method:
K = Knowledge
U = Understanding
B = Belief
A = Action
The KUBA method is a communication model that explains how people consume and process the information being shared with them. It isn't enough to share knowledge, even if done clearly, and assume that people will take action.
You must first confirm that your audience understood what you were communicating and that they believe in the rationale before they can move to action.
Mark thought the model was great, but struggled with how to implement it. How could he confirm understanding? Didn’t he offer time for Q&A? No one had any questions! He felt the same about belief — if his team didn’t ask questions, how were they ever going to believe?
What Mark didn’t grasp was that for more complex issues and topics, you needed to change up your communication process in order to ensure understanding. This wasn’t just about what content to convey. It also included who, when, and how the content was being presented.
After brainstorming with his coach some more, Mark developed a different communication plan:
Mark reached out to his team to acknowledge that his first pass didn’t work. This simple message was important and set the stage to rebuild trust by showing Mark was not ignoring their feedback.
Mark created a small working group to be his sounding board for his message and to help him relay the plan to the impacted teams. In this case, it made sense to select the two managers of the impacted teams. He added another manager who was a significant collaborator to the two teams who would also be impacted by the change to diversify the perspectives.
He asked his working group the following content questions:
What makes sense to you about the “why” in this change?
What will your team be concerned about that I haven’t addressed?
What will ensure that your team will understand this change?
What will ensure that your team believes in this change?
Mark then reworked his presentation with this input in mind.
For the day of the revised presentation, Mark set up follow-up meetings with each of the teams separately after consulting with his working group on what would elicit the most engagement.
The meetings after his presentation included only managers and their direct reports to start without Mark. After the managers had a chance to speak to their teams without him, Mark joined to further address questions and concerns.
This created a more intimate setting in case some employees wanted to talk with their manager first and if they didn’t want to ask a question in front of the other impacted team.
Lastly, a week after the announcement, Mark gathered his direct reports for more feedback about how the teams understood the change and whether they believed in it. They used that time to align on messaging that all of his managers could collectively use to help answer any lingering questions or concerns.
Within a few weeks, the change was fully implemented, and the teams impacted were either fully committed to the change or at least accepting of it and working out the kinks together.
A Learning (or two)
What is so powerful about the KUBA method is that it breaks down how communications get processed by the audience. It gives you a framework to check and get creative about how to address each stage of the messaging.
Managers are very busy, but sometimes we forget that while an idea has been percolating in our minds for weeks (and sometimes months) when we bring it to our teams, they haven’t had the same amount of time to absorb the concepts or accept them.
For less complex changes or concepts, simply taking the time to explain why you are recommending a particular path will go a long way toward improving understanding and belief.
But for more complex issues, you often need a new approach to landing these two stages of processing. Like Mark, you might want to try a completely different way of preparing your message and getting feedback.
You might add different people to the mix — your direct reports or cultural pillars or influencers on your staff. Sometimes changing the voice or source will help a team member more readily take in an idea that would otherwise be unpalatable.
In addition, budgeting enough time for your team to take in the information can result in far greater understanding and belief.
As a result of leveraging KUBA, you have a better shot at gaining acceptance and reducing resistance, and creating a more aligned team when it comes time to take action.
Getting Started
Internal communication can feel stressful and challenging, particularly for more difficult or complex decisions and changes. Using KUBA can help you make it more engaging and give you permission to try different methods and be more creative.
So many managers fail at high-stakes communications. Why? Because they are so filled with fear, they are unable to see the issues at hand from multiple perspectives and consider different options.
To make KUBA a tool that you draw upon more regularly, discuss it with your leadership team.
Have an open dialogue where you each talk about challenges you’ve faced with internal messaging and where something like KUBA might help
Trade tips on what has worked and what hasn’t
Brainstorm ideas that you might want to try in the future and you can work together to test and learn
If you really want to be inclusive, bring your whole team in on the conversation. Ask them what’s been working and what hasn’t. Invite ideas to help you have a broader set of options to draw upon in the future
No matter how you choose to integrate KUBA into your work, take a practice and play approach. Don’t aim for perfection, aim for impact and learning.
Your Turn
I’d love to hear from you — share your thoughts in the Comments below:
What are the communications strategies that have worked best for you and your organization?
Who is your sounding board when you are planning communications?
Communication done well can be a source of inspiration and a driver of strong outcomes. Let’s all take a moment to strengthen how we do messaging so that we can create more effective organizations!
Want to receive Lead without Limits each week? Join as a subscriber and don’t miss any of my mini-guides.
If you enjoyed reading this post, feel free to share it with friends! Or click the ❤️ button on this post so more people can discover it on Substack 🙏
Special Announcement!
I am so excited to share that I am launching an 8-week Group Coaching Program in mid-January.
Join me as I guide you through the signature Positive Intelligence program, where you will learn how to identify and catch your saboteurs and access your inner sage wisdom.
In addition to the app and wonderful guided sessions, you’ll get weekly group coaching sessions from me and a private 1:1 session. There will be 4.5 hours of powerful content and support each week.
This program changed my life: improving my performance, my well-being, and my relationships.
There will only be 8 spots and I wanted to share this opportunity with my subscribers first.
Book 15 min with me to learn more!
Fantastic audio, Kathy!