Twenty four-hour television is a wonderful thing … when there’s something actually going on. But when something is about to happen, it is at its most absurd. One of the enduring images of the last few weeks has been that Vatican chimney. While the cardinals were locked in their conclave, CNN’s camera was locked on the chimney, in close up, waiting for the smoke to start. Throughout this time, the screen was helpfully tagged with the word ‘Live’.

As a means of announcing a successor, it is surely more dramatic than a press release. Once the new Pope was finally declared, the news media got on with what they do best. His history was examined for clues to his future and previous decisions were analysed as part of early efforts to answer the question, ‘What does this mean for us?’

I'm guessing that most readers of Leadership Matters this month are operating at a more modest level than the Pope - but the same principles regarding communication apply at every level. This is a major issue for all those affected by the nomination of a leader to any post. Studies show that it is a time of anxiety for many of those whose lives and times are about to be influenced by someone new, whether as corporate CEO, manager, headmistress, team leader and yes, pastor.

At every level, clear, early and preferably personal communication is the only way to soothe this uncertainty. It is a fact of life that in organisations of all sorts, information gaps get filled. If they are not being filled by clear guidance from leaders, they get filled with … well, anything. Gossip, conjecture, rumour - any old tattle gets sucked into the gap where the real story should be.

Leaders find this immensely frustrating. ‘Where on earth did they get that idea from?’ they cry. Yet the responsibility for putting the rumour mill out of business belongs at the top. Communication is part of the daily regime of effective leadership.

Now of course, you usually can’t tell everyone everything, immediately. People understand that. So rather then glossing over obvious information gaps, explain why you can’t tell them the whole story just yet and give your undertaking that as soon as you can, you will. People understand that some things are commercially sensitive, or that it is important for some people to receive information ahead of everyone else.

Todd Spitzer, CEO of Cadbury Schweppes said in the FT this week, ‘I believe in as personal and as frequent a communication as you can make.’ I couldn’t agree more. For Spitzer, this is quite an ambition – he has 55,000 people to get face to face with. But he is right to ensure that he personally takes his message as far as he can to everyone in the company. Dialogue is better than monologue and both are better than e mail.

Leaders often communicate well with their coterie of close colleagues and hope the best bits of their message will trickle through to reach the furthest reaches of their organisations. This is plainly not good enough. First, the message will probably be unrecognisable by the time it finishes its journey. Second, asking questions is a proper part of communicating clearly. Questions cannot make their way back any better than a clear message will make its way out. And third, doesn’t everyone deserve to hear directly from the person most capable of affecting their working lives?

You don’t need to be a brilliant public speaker to do this (though Phil Wall’s presentation training is second to none!) People want to engage with you, not your script. They want open, honest, real; not slick, crafted, flawless.

It’s so much easier to stay behind the ‘too busy’ parapet. But clear, regular and personal communication is a non-negotiable component of effective leadership. Far be it from me to offer personal counsel to His Holiness, but if your communication can also be not in Latin, that helps.

Richard Eyre
Chairman, Signify Ltd