Clarity internally = clarity externally
Written by jon jon MOORE
Information overload. Unstable social media climate. And if that’s not enough, nonprofit leaders like you have to wade through polarization and disinformation.
Our audiences are dealing with a lot – so it’s more important than ever to clearly describe your work and your vision for the world.
You shouldn't wait until a press release or web redesign to sharpen the language you use everyday to describe your work.
In fact, every day is a great day to make your messaging strategy clearer, and this work starts internally.
Here’s how to build clear communications inside your organization so your message is clear outside your organization.
talking builds trust
Just like your audiences, your team is bombarded with competing (and sometimes contradicting) messages about the why and how of your mission — over Slack and in the real world.
Added to that, the work you do is complicated. But if your organization needs a whole page to clearly articulate your theory of change, then chances are your team can’t easily (or quickly!) explain how their day-to-day work has real-world impact. And when we don’t trust that our work is meaningful, we’re much less likely to collaborate proactively and take risks.
The best way to get your team on the same page? Talk often, honestly.
Regularly aligning around why and how you’re enacting your theory of change can:
help your team members feel connected to one another,
provide opportunities for folks to assess how your work aligns with their personal development, and
build psychological safety.
This doesn’t have to be a formal presentation — a simple end-of-week Q&A focused on looming questions or clarifying strategy can work just fine. Make sure to re-emphasize these points in team meetings and one-on-ones.
>>Ask: can every member of our organization easily explain what we do, how we do it, our vision for a brighter world and our impact?
listening powers learning
Are we fundraising for this year or the next three? Are we hiring internally, or are we hiring a recruiter? We’ve all been there: tiny uncertainties and medium-sized miscommunications accumulate over time, crushing your faith that clear communication is an org-wide priority.
And if clarity isn’t prioritized in house, can you blame community members or reporters for walking away from a conversation with more questions than answers?
Remember that an important part of building internal consensus is providing regular opportunities for both anonymous and identifiable feedback. Listen intently for the most pressing questions and recurring concerns expressed by your team — and encourage leadership to do the same.
You’ll learn a ton about the parts of your strategy or vision that folks have a hard time wrapping their arms around. When the time comes, you’ll be able to practice new talking points with a generous audience hungry for something that makes sense.
>>Ask: when was the last time our team had a chance to share feedback with our leaders and one another?
people ground people
I once worked for an executive director who made a habit of sending a message every Sunday, often filled with shoutouts, but always grounded in the real story of a person impacted by our work.
At first, I dreaded receiving the detailed message while my body and brain were still on the couch, but eventually I found myself excited for this reminder, however small, that my work was one part of something much greater.
Along with each week’s colorful narrative from a real person’s life, this internal communications ritual not only updated our team on recent decision making, but also demonstrated whether or not our leadership really heard and valued the questions, small and large, on our hearts and minds.
Who knew an email could actually fight the Sunday scaries?
>>Ask: do we regularly share “the happy” – our wins, shoutouts and stories – with our team so they know our true impact? If not, how can we start?
The bottom line: clear communications externally starts with doing the work internally.
