Communication Gap: How to Close the Communication Gap and Increase Alignment

One of our manufacturing clients came to us originally with a very interesting problem. Everyone on the shop floor was doing a tremendous job - they were extremely productive, using Lean to eliminate waste, and producing high-quality work. The executive team was also doing a great job creating strategic plans and goals for the company. However, the two weren't communicating. While they were both doing what they thought they needed to do quite well, they ultimately were falling short of achieving their goals.

The executives failed to communicate their strategic plans and goals to the team on the shop floor. This team could be the best in the world at executing effectively, but they're not going to hit those strategic goals if they don't even know what they are. This is a classic example of what Patrick Thean refers to as "the communication gap" in his book, Rhythm.

For your company to have a shot at success, you have to close this gap. You can't have high performance teams if your executive team and departments are misaligned. Through our work with clients, we've observed a lot of patterns, and here is what we have found to be helpful to solve this problem.

Good luck communicating effectively and reaching your goals together!

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