BOTTOM LINE UPFRONT: Putting tools like Twist, Slack, Teams aside, most organizational cultures inadvertently reinforce subpar communication expectations, causing delays, frustrations, and a drag on profitability. Optimizing how teams manage digital communication demands is front and center. Leaders who strive to execute with excellence will challenge their teams to step up to proven communication tactics. This key move will create a compelling culture and drive competitive advantage while delivering better outcomes.
Communicating effectively in a timely manner is vital in propelling you and your team to that next ridgeline - and it requires a system, a framework. Done right, moments of delight are created, leading to better outcomes and improved top and bottom lines. Relationships are reinforced. Done poorly, mediocre results will follow. Relationships will strain and weaken over time.
So much of today’s communications are digital, requiring a system for prioritizing and responding to inbound digital messages - a ‘Communication Framework.’
The Communication Framework outlined in the table below has been battle-tested and will set you and your team up for success. Using a subpar Communication Framework will result in poorer performance.
Working with organizations and individuals across decades, my research estimates only about 5% of professionals understand and benefit from using the proper Communication Framework.
Read on to learn how to get it right.
Using the correct Communication Frameworks is at the heart of Personal Execution Intelligence. Personal Execution Intelligence focuses on optimizing workflows and using the right productivity tools, frameworks, and mindsets to deliver excellence consistently and proactively. Personal Execution Intelligence impacts all areas of your personal and work-life and allows you to better lead people to successful outcomes.
A critical branch of Personal Execution Intelligence is Open Loop Discipline, defined as closing out communication loops promptly and consistently. With a built-in countdown timer, an open loop is like a light bulb turning on and off. For example, if someone sends you a text or an email with a question, this question creates an open loop, and the light bulb is turned on and the response timer starts. Once you sufficiently respond, the loop is closed, the light bulb turns off, and the timer stops. An open loop is also created when someone sends you a work task that may need attention today or perhaps in two weeks.
Most don’t manage this process well at scale, creating an unrelenting stream of open loops during a typical workday. ⚠️Think about it - just one missed open loop can fracture a relationship or lead to missing out on a new and promising opportunity. Unattended open loops invariably lead to timing and communication frustration and often relational or revenue hits.
So, an inadequate Communication Framework for managing open loops leads to a tax levied against all - resulting in unnecessary follow-ups and slowdowns - and causing damage to one’s personal brand at work. If one doesn’t have a rigorous task capture and management system, the frustration and delays are worsened, leading to a stressful and reactionary approach to work.
Many think their Communication Framework is adequate, producing mediocre or often below-average communication results. Since nobody is directly complaining because there is always a more urgent problem, this cycle produces no fuel to explore better alternatives.
“How you do anything is how you do everything.” — Anonymous
How does your Communication Framework measure up if you are on a journey toward continual personal development and self-improvement?
As we explore each Communication Framework, there is a warning. Using your inbox as a task list doesn’t scale or hold up to stress testing. Instead, all inboxes should be used to ‘Prepare the Worksite’ and organize the work that needs to be done. You will see several references where follow-up tasks are created from actionable messages. Using the proper Communication Framework is key but must be combined with a well-tuned Task Capture System.
This chart compares common Communication Frameworks. The breakdown spotlights how the right Communication Framework is essential for the team and individual team members to thrive - spending more time on work rather than follow-up.
Organizations unified with the leading communication framework have a significant marketplace advantage.
With any high-performing personal productivity system, the key is to invest just enough energy and effort to deliver excellence - no more and no less.
Pick right and deliver higher levels of excellence. Pick wrong and continue to allow levels of unnecessary friction and frustration you may not even be aware you are causing.
Step 1 - Review the Communication Frameworks below and identify the one most closely matches what you use today.
Step 2 - Consider the gaps and what it will take to level up your Communication Framework. Survey key team members who will give honest feedback on your current Communication Framework on responsiveness, consistency, and any frustrations. You can also reflect on how often people follow up with you about messages you have already received.
If anyone asks for a status report or follows up, it is a signal you may have failed to give a proactive update.
Step 3 - Be bold and make the pivot. If you have an inbox that is truly out of control, archive the messages into a different folder and give yourself a fresh start. This new change will pay dividends in how you serve your team and your career as a whole. Then consider the impact if everyone on your team was using the optimal Communication Framework.
🕐 Estimated reading time: 15-25 minutes
All Communication Frameworks on this list assume you have read/cleared all your text and instant messages at the end of the workday with follow-up tasks set as needed. Your voice mails are reviewed and deleted, with follow-up tasks created as required.
If you embrace Inbox 7, detailed above, you will temporarily burst into Inbox 50 or Inbox 150+ when you are away from the office for an extended period. The solution is to schedule additional communication sprints to get back to Inbox 7 swiftly so you can best serve your customers and your team.
After the needed action has been fully exhausted, messages of importance are moved and saved to specific folders for future reference.
Pick right, and you deliver higher levels of excellence. Pick wrong, and you continue to allow levels of unnecessary friction and frustration you may not even be aware you are causing.
Did you get something out of the Communication Frameworks or the Operating Principles?
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This content is part of the Productivity Accelerator.
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