Communicate From the Inside Then Out: Build Trust and Relationships Through Communications

The public should never receive information before your own staff. As leaders, you need to remember to communicate internally first, then go out to the public. As my mom used to tell me and my two brothers growing up, "If I'm going to get bad news, I better hear it from you first." That has always stuck with me for some reason, and I'm glad it did. Communicating from the inside out is a good philosophy for both personal and professional communications. Unfortunately for my mom, that didn't stop the bad news from coming, except from her youngest son who was the model citizen of the family :).

When you communicate the news first, you are in control of how that initial message is delivered. If it's left to an outside source such as the media, a neighbor, or social media, you are at the mercy of their message. It's your news, you need to deliver it first.

In the case of positive news, you can get away with informing your public and staff at the same time in some cases, but it's still not a great idea. What if your staff gets bombarded with questions about the new program or exciting initiative and how it will be implemented? They won't have the answers, as they just received the news themselves. It's never a good look when your employees don't have the answers or an inside track to what's happening within the organization. You need to prepare your staff for good news too, not just the bad.

In the case of that dreaded bad news, you always need to start your communications inside and then go out. Your staff should never receive bad news about their own company from a media report or social media first. This is a relationship and trust killer. Your staff doesn't need to agree with the news, they just need to be privy to it before it goes public. You will be trusted and connected much more talking with your staff first and keeping them in the know. I have yet to work with anyone who doesn't appreciate "being kept in the loop." This is how you build strong relationships and trust within your organization. When the public or your staff demands "more transparency", this is often what they are referring to. They just want to know what's going on, especially before the rumor mill starts churning.

When you are communicating internally first, there is still a pecking order to keep in mind. The executive positions should get the information first when possible, and then down the chain. A top level executive should not receive critical news about the organization from someone they supervise. If this happens in your organization, there is a serious chink in your armor, and it needs to be fixed immediately.

In closing, think about your own staff and stakeholders first. They deserve to be in the know. When people talk about "communication is key", this is the type of philosophy and strategy they are referring to. Who doesn't want to feel trusted and be on the inside of their own organization? When your staff is consistently in the know, they will defend your decisions more often, even if they disagree. More importantly, you will build trust and strong relationships through effective communications.