Communicating a message to teams at multiple locations with varying shift times is challenging at best. A situation I recall was to communicate an impactful and timely message with the barriers described. The timing required communicating to as many associates as possible in the first channel of in-person to preserve the message as the teams would have an appropriately exaggerated emotional response. An email was staged to delay sending to the time when the initial meeting would end to reinforce the message.

I orchestrated for the various teams to meet in the respective conference rooms with a private Zoom link only accessible by leadership. The link was shared with the employees working from home shortly before the meeting time. I positioned key leaders at each site prepared with the message to send and how to manage the response. Preparations included assessing the cognitive, emotional, and volitional landscape of the team members (Clampitt, Berk, & Williams, 2002). The incidents leading to the message included key individuals who had exhibited behaviors contradictory to associate behavior policies. The behaviors related to knowledge and involvement with a specific figure who exited in a fashion with legal restrictions (Limited, n.d.). These associates needed to receive the message at the same time as other individuals, however the leadership team was prepared to manage their extreme responses by using scripting to identify and terminate clichés.

In-person encouraged the team to be supported by leadership, despite the news. In hindsight, I would not change the approach. The logistics of gathering the entire team are possible but require advance notice. Communicating a timely and negative message eliminated the lead time for a meeting at one site for all team members. The leadership team came prepared to ensure we were on the same page. We knew the personalities going in and had a plan on how to respond. The leadership team convened afterwards to reflect on the meeting and side conversations at each site. The preparation and reflection by the leadership team ensured a consistent message as the gossip filtered beyond the immediate teams I managed.

QUESTIONS:

• Respectfully pose one or two questions to your colleague about whether the choice of channel they described was effective and appropriate, which may provide them with further insight or opportunity for reflection.
• Provide one or two additional recommendations regarding channel choice and/or noise reduction that could be applied to the situation your colleague outlined.
• Share an insight you gained from your colleague's evaluation, including how you can put their recommendations into practice in the future.