Hey there, and welcome to The Mode/Switch, a weekly newsletter that helps you do more than cope when work’s a lot. Every other Tuesday, right here, you get an intergenerational team podcast engaging an expert on mid-level leadership and internal communication. This is one of those Tuesdays!
When confusion arises on your team, nothing feels easier than the strategy of increasing the volume of your communication.
Another 858-word email. Another Teams update. Another strategy deck. Another one-on-one. Another round of talking, messaging, signaling.
But what if that strategy’s exactly the problem?
New research suggests that high-volume communication environments can increase employee burnout. Such well-intentioned messaging can put leadership trust at risk.
These data suggest an uncanny fact: the more messages leaders send, the less likely employees are to believe them.
This week on The Mode/Switch Podcast, Josh Samarco, Joe Toly, David Wilsterman, Ken Heffner, and I talk with Chuck Gose, founder of ICology and co-host of the Frequency podcast. With more than two decades of experience in internal communication, Chuck makes clear why managers lose credibility when they’re conduits for information they haven’t had the opportunity to interpret, personalize, or question.
Together, we explore questions like these…
As a mid-level manager, whose side are you on? The team’s? The senior leadership’s?
Should managers try to be “authentic” in their communications?
How do Gen Z and Gen X experience the flood of communication differently?
How can AI be a friend to managers in their efforts to communicate better? (Why do senior leaders always seem to have the best bots?)
How does pay inequity contribute to distrust of internal communication?
If you have a hunch that your team needs not just more information (they’ve got that aplenty) but more trust, this podcast will help you build the credibility you need as a leader from the middle of your organization.
Before you hit “SEND” on your next email to the team, hit “PLAY” on this podcast.
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