How well do you communicate with the people you work with? I don't know if you think about it often and quite honestly until we started reading about internal communication in my graduate school class I had never really paid much attention to it. Yes, it is an important topic because communicating with the people that you work with is one of the most important things that you face throughout the day. If you and your coworkers are not on the same page chaos could ensue. Have you ever been in a job where not everyone was on the same page. I can most definitely say that I have been in that position. Thankfully, the place that I currently work is full of understanding people who are fantastic to work with. In one of my past jobs that was most definitely not the case. I worked under someone that no one in the office respected. It was not a good environment because when the employees do not respect the person in authority there will always be a difference of opinion. That is the situation that I walked into everyday.
Internal communication between coworkers is important yes, but it is not only internal communication that matters. External communication is extremely important, if not more, because without as great of communication you may have inside of the office if you there is not good communication with the office and the outside world then it does no good. Most organizations and companies are in business for the public. Credit card companies, grocery stores and car dealerships are all in business because the public keeps them afloat. Since their success depends on the public the external communication is extremely important. If these companies do not have good communication with the people that keep them in business then the company will no longer be in business. It's as simple as that. I'm sure you all can think of a business that has completely fall apart, or at least taken a major blow, because their external communication left a lot to be desired. I will use Exxon as an example. Back in the 1980's there was a terrible oil spill that they were connected to. Instead of taking responsiblity for it they lied to the media and even pretended the effects were not as bad as everyone said that they were. The simple fact is this: the company lied to the public and the media which was terrible external communication.
What communication all boils down to, in my opinion, is leadership. Leadership does not necessarily have to be someone in a "boss type" role, but it's someone who has the ability to make a difference or make change, even if they don't realize it. A video that I recently watched that spoke of leadership mentions someone who helped to keep someone from dropping out of school even though he had no idea that he had made such an impact on this person's life. This young man helped to keep this young man from dropping out of school simply by using communication. Think of all the people who have made a difference in someone's life without even realizing it. That is what leadership is. Communication and leadership go hand in hand because without good communication, good leadership does not exist. Good internal communication in the office requires a leader, but that is not necessarily one person. Every single person in the office can be a leader because a balance is required between all employees for everything to stay in order. Every person, whether it be in an office, a community organization, or the media, has some type of leadership role that they can fulfill. Every person has the ability to be a leader; they just need to embrace it.
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