Ten most common mistakes CEOs make in communicating strategy

been six months of hard work, time and energy, the results are outstanding and you and your executive are looking forward to seeing your strategic plan implemented. Nine months down the road you are disappointed and frustrated. The new plan is not having the results you would like to see.

Employees don’t seem to understand or care. It’s a great plan but it’s not getting any traction.You are not alone. Seventy percent of change plans fail, not because they aren’t good, but because the people who must execute them don’t feel engaged. To fully engage employees you will need to actively communicate.

Here are the 10 most common mistakes CEOs make in communicating strategy:

1. Not having an engagement/communication plan. Any important initiative needs a plan. You have put a lot of effort into the development so make sure an equal amount goes into the execution.

Solution: Work with your communication team to develop a clear plan that targets different groups and maps out strategies, tactics and messages.

2. Leaving it up to someone else. You own the plan. No one else has the same passion for it. How can you expect them to communicate as effectively as you?

Solution: Show you are committed and get out and communicate. Your employees will respond to your passion and understand this is important to the organization, through your behaviour. You need to be a key tactic in the communication plan. You are after all the Chief Engagement Officer!

3. Trying to be someone else in communicating the plan. Don’t try and communicate in a style that doesn’t work to your best advantage.

Solution: Use your personal style to your advantage in communicating to staff. If you are an outstanding one-on-one communicator then set up a series of meetings that allow you to communicate in this way.

4. Not taking time to simplify the message so everyone can understand it. Remember only you and the executive worked on it for six months.

Solution: Work with your communication department to create key messages and graphics that clarify and communicate the plan so everyone can understand and relate to it.

5. Sending out the same message to everyone. Different areas will need to interpret the strategic plan in different ways.

Solution: Personalize your message to different departments so that they can begin the work of interpreting it for their area.

6. Not being available to answer questions about the plan. This is not about telling – it’s about engaging and helping people understand their role in the plan.

Solution: If you are holding group meetings, assign a large portion of session for questions. Host a blog where people can interact with you. Cancel appointments and open your door to employees.

7. Not making your communication objectives clear to managers on how they must communicate the plan to their employees.

Solution: Set clear and measurable communication objectives for managers on communicating e.g. “the plan will be communicated to all your staff by July 15”.

8. Not supporting managers with appropriate materials so they can communicate to their staff.

Solution: Develop discussion guides and Q/As so managers can fully discuss the strategic plan and help employees understand how they support it.

9. Not measuring the success of communication throughout the organization. How do you know your efforts are working?

Solution: Phone surveys to random employees to see if they have been communicated to and understand the gist of the communication.

10. Not communicating early wins. Employees need to see the new behaviours in action so they can understand what they need to do.

Solution: Know who your early adopters are and make sure their successes are fully communicated.