Communicate constantly
In a time of crisis, or any time of uncertainty, Donnelly says you should lean on
your ability to communicate.
“In the absence of information, people will fill in the blanks,” he says. “When
people don’t have a sense that leadership
is telling them what is going on, people
standing at the coffee machine or the
watercooler start filling it in, and that’s
how rumors start. Nothing good comes
out of that. I challenge everyone constantly to say that we do not manage by
rumors — you know what happens
when you assume — and people need to
ask questions.”
One of the key components in
Donnelly’s communication strategy has
been videoconferences. In the first
months of his tenure, with his company
adrift in choppy waters, it was an effective way to reach many employees at
once. PMA has between 300 and 400 people working at their head office in Blue
Bell, but it also has nearly 20 additional
offices in the field.
The videoconferences augmented
Donnelly’s opportunities to travel and
make face-to-face contact with his people, allowing him a chance to not just
speak but also listen.
“As videoconferencing technology continues to evolve, it allows us to touch in
a somewhat personal way,” he says. “But
I also went out and visited with our
employees in our offices and e-mailed
them. I found many ways to stay in touch
and tell people what was going on. The
videoconferences also were an open
forum to ask questions, and I’d say
employees asked some tough questions.”
Communication cannot be a one-way
street. When employees have concerns,
you need to develop a platform to allow
them to express those concerns to the
right people.
Donnelly says the most effective
method of remaining accessible to your
employees, your customers and your
shareholders isn’t the product of the latest technological advancement. It can be
aided by something far more low-tech: a
comfortable pair of walking shoes.
“When I want to see somebody, I go see
them,” he says. “I’m always walking
around the building all the time, stopping and talking to people, asking them what’s going on. My
style is not that of someone who sits in their ivory tower, in
their corner office, calling people in and out. I think it’s symbolic to let people know that the style of the company is an
open style.”
Donnelly says a leader needs, above all, passion and honesty
to become a good communicator in a time of change. Everyone
around you needs to see that you believe in the direction in
which you are taking the company and that you enthusiastically promote it. Then, they have to see that you aren’t putting up
any smokescreens with regard to the company’s situation.
“Passion comes down to the fact that you have to want to be
a leader,” he says. “Part of that, admittedly, is something to do
with ego. But not in terms of titles and positions. It’s that you
want that responsibility. I used to be a schoolteacher, and in
addition to that, I coached basketball. Being a leader means
you want to be the one to take the last shot in the game.
“As far as honesty, people see through whether you are BS-ing or not. It’s a lesson I learned from my mom. She told me
that there are some people in life who are two-faced. When
things are going well, they act one way, but when things aren’t
going well, they’re going to act a different way. People are
looking for that honesty and consistency from you as a person.
An effective leader is someone who is respected not just for
their title but is respected as a person.”
