The Next Next Common Sense
communication of decisions. This discipline creates what Accenture calls “debate-decision clarity”—robust internal discussion followed by unified external direction. Coherent communication discipline manifests in several team practices: Boundary clarity. Teams explicitly distinguish between exploration spaces and decision spaces. When technology company IBM’s leadership team navigates strategic questions, it uses “Mode Signaling” techniques that clearly indicate when conversations are exploring options versus mak- ing decisions, preventing premature closure or ambiguous conclusions. Cascade coordination. Teams align communication sequences and emphases rather than allowing fragmented messaging. When consumer goods company P&G implements strategic shifts, its leadership team uses “Message Architecture” frameworks that coordinate how key messages cascade through the organization, ensuring coherent rather than contra- dictory communication. Integration narratives. Teams develop stories that connect diverse initiatives rather than presenting them as separate efforts. When health- care company Kaiser Permanente pursues multiple strategic priorities, its leadership creates “Coherence Narratives” that explicitly link these priorities to overarching purpose, helping the organization understand connections rather than experiencing fragmentation. These approaches create what communication scholar James Grunig called “strategic alignment”—consistency in message substance across different communicators and contexts. Conclusion Leading for coherence and complexity requires fundamentally dif- ferent approaches than traditional management models. By embracing evolved mindsets, distributing leadership across networks, building lead- ership capabilities at all levels, balancing stability with dynamism, recon- ciling fundamental tensions, creating psychological safety, and developing
387
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease