Most organizations think only about generating profits to drive company growth. As leaders in today’s environment, it takes more than profits to drive growth. Instead, processes supporting prioritization, accountability, and documentation are necessary to improve communication and productivity towards growth. Leaders should also be able to keep their team engaged virtually and in-person by improving their sense of why they are working for the organization.
On today’s podcast episode, we interview Dan Gray, General Manager of KOTN Supply Inc., who is experienced in scaling companies from small to large. Today’s topics are locked-in on the use of effective communication flow in organizations (prioritization, accountability and documentation), the best company culture, and keeping employees engaged to foster company growth.
What Dan Learned from the Past 2 Years
According to Dan, the past 2 years have been challenging for him as a company leader. But being purpose-driven helped him grow the company steadily. The 3 most important things for pushing company growth for him are: how communication flows within the organization, how team members stay accountable for their tasks, and how to create alignment across the entire organization.
Effective Communication Flow in Organizations
A Leader’s way of effective communication in an organization is vital to a company’s success. According to Dan, there are three ways to improve as to how communication flows inside an organization.
- Prioritization – Ensuring the communication of the right things by prioritizing the most important tasks aligned to the company goals.This is done by creating a hierarchy of tasks.
- Accountability – A team member’s attitude of being responsible and taking ownership to the task(s) at hand should also be reinforced and communicated by the leaders at all times.
- Documentation – Documenting information especially during meetings is important for leaders. By using an app such as Fellow, leaders will have an easier way to track task progress and accountability for each team member.
Communicating the Best Company Culture
Leaders should be the role models for communicating the best company culture. However, it is also important to take note of a team member’s ideas and feelings of what the company culture is all about. Dan said that there are two ways to communicate the best company culture to team members.
- Clarity – Team members should have the idea of clarity and it goes back to the company’s mission, value declaration and culture. Team members should also be highly involved in this because the business is always evolving.
- Repetition – Leaders should be able to create alignment among team members. This is by conducting all-hands regularly and by reminding team members of what the organization does. Positive reinforcement to the things the company does–such as maintaining corporate social responsibility–will allow members to connect as to why the organization does something.
Keeping Your Employees Engaged
As employees have more leverage and options for choosing the organization they want to work for, it is really essential for leaders to keep their employees engaged to improve talent retention. According to Dan, helping employees define the organization’s why will also reinforce their reasons for staying in an organization’s culture. Dan also said that the value proposition of an organization should not be only for the customers but also for the employees.
Reinforcing an employee’s “why”, will turn them into happy and productive employees. Celebrating and incentivizing performing employees also help with their motivation and overall performance.
Who is Dan Gray?
With over 10 years of experience scaling both B2C and B2B brands, he has been able to be successful by building great teams, challenging assumptions, and continuously learning along the way. He has a passion for technology, marketing, and commerce and always welcomes the opportunity to discuss and debate many of the exciting changes these industries are experiencing.
- LinkedIn —https://www.linkedin.com/in/dangray7/
To learn more about effective communication flow, download this episode now.
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