Communicate like Nobody Is Watching
Short Bits - Communications Part 3
So here is a personal story.
- but there is also something relevant for businesses in it -
I've always wanted a career that contributed to environmental sustainability. And so I set out to study, hold on to your seats, Integrated Coastal and Marine Management as my undergrad. It gets better: I studied said Integrated Coastal and Marine Management at Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. Fit that onto a CV, I challenge you.
While I made that choice because I was passionate about the theory, what really stuck with me was an incredible "soft”-skill that the university hadn't even advertised (but absolutely should: VHL, if you're reading this, get on it): communicating across cultural and sectoral divides.
This skill is about breaking free from fear of biases and prejudice. This is skill is about freeing ourselves from the fear of otherness. This skill is about communicating like nobody is watching, because if we don't, nobody will watch. And then, what would the point really?
This skill is also about realising and exposing the sameness in our goals we all too often overlook. Let me give you an over-simplified example:
Everyone wants fish in the sea forever. If you are a fisherman, you want a sustainable livelihood. If you are a consumer of seafood, you want fish on your plate forever. If you are shaping policy, you most likely want to meet your sustainability targets. If you are working in the seafood industry, you want sustainable revenue. If you are a NGO concerned with ocean health, you want to safeguard healthy seas. And yet, with some exceptions that make me hopeful, we are still seeing rampant over-exploitation and habitat degradation at a global scale. How can this be with such a simple and shared goal, what's the matter?
A lot, naturally, as things are never as simple as a small article has the power to express.
Debate about the accuracy of scientific fish stock assessment.
International law and policy setting instruments that are sluggish and bogged down by the multilateral process.
The simple fact that the ocean is a dynamic, hard to control 3 dimensional thing with limited visibility as to what is actually going on.
However, what I want to focus on is this: cultural difference between the sectors and people responsible for sustainable development is a major contributor to its failure. They ideate differently. They reflect differently with their families about the events of the day. They have different prejudices against one another. They feel the same goal in a different way. Communications is the key to bridging this gap.
What does this mean for business?
When I joined the corporate world, I expected to be a bit lost, entering a universe with new unwritten behavioural norms, dos and don'ts. Interestingly, I found that the ability to communicate across the cultural divide was as relevant as it is in sustainable development. The brand team doesn't seem to be able to speak to the operations team charged with making their dreams a reality and execute the route-to-market strategy. The operations team has issues understanding why legal review of a packaging change delays their timeline by two months. The Vice President doesn't seem to understand why the junior executive doesn't deliver against their briefing with accuracy.
All of this is all too common in just one office building of one company. Imagine the increased complexity if we start to talk about B2B relationships, relationships between the private and public sector, between business and NGOs.
It's about time we ramp up our empathy game, focus on finding shared language for shared goals, and actually treat this step of defining healthy communication protocols as indispensable for any kind of meaningful progress.
Let's go get it,
Tom Zamzow