Before you say what you think, be sure you have.

Education and communication are cornerstones of high performance. If you want to move people forward, you have to communicate where you are going and provide the tools to get there. Communication skills of leaders are critical to inspire and energize.

Managers routinely underestimate the amount and quality of education and communication required to make improvement efforts successful. People don't buy into changes necessarily. Before people will want to change they have to agree with why they need to improve. Only then are they ready to learn how to change. A tremendous amount of effort has to go into communicating the vision, purpose, and values.

Effective improvement education is more than just presenting information. Engaging everyone in discussion by providing opportunities for feedback helps deepen understanding, building, commitment, and trust. Having seminars or workshops led by senior managers is a very effective tool in the improvement process, providing:

• A visible demonstration of commitment.
• An opportunity for two-way communication.
• A consistent message, avoiding filters from middle managers.

Some of the communication and education issues to be addressed at different stages include:

• Why should we change?
• Self-leadership. Taking responsibility for yourself.
• Focus and context. Vision, values, and purpose.
• Customer/partners. Understanding customers' needs and critical importance to success.
• Organizational learning and innovation.
• Improvement tools, techniques, and practices.
• Next steps.

Communication methods include:

• Newsletters
• Videos
• Voice and electronic mail
• Customer visits
• Recognition events
• Training sessions
• Teleconferences
• Idea fairs/days

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