Promote the mission. You have to have a mission statement promoted throughout the company. We have a company workbook in six or seven sections. The orientation section outlines the company, the philosophy, the policies, what you can be terminated for, how to increase your pay. We give people the ability to control their own destiny with their pay based on the number of training classes they take and based on their performance. You also could display plaques in your office that show your employee of the year or store of the year. There are many different ways to promote your mission.
Where leaders might go wrong with communication is that they’re strong on delegation, but they’re weak on following up. I always follow up, and people know I’m going to follow up. If people know you’re going to follow up, you probably won’t need to repeat yourself too much, because they know you’re going to ask. But if you’re weak at following up on whatever you’ve directed or delegated to somebody, then you’re going to be telling them over and over because they know you’re not going to follow up.
Seek support and feedback. Find a monthly CEO round table in your area, other leaders you can bounce ideas off of. They will make you accountable when no on else will. They can help you address situations to make you a better CEO. There are also CEO coaches out there, if you prefer more one-on-one coaching. They can go over how to better yourself as a CEO.
In-house, with your own employees, you can hand out surveys and set up anonymous feedback channels. Those types of surveys will ask employees questions like, ‘Do you think the company treats you fairly?’ and, ‘Do you think your manager treats you fairly?’ and give employees an opportunity to give their input on how management is leading.
