LONDON, Dec. 5, 2007 -- The erosion of trust in traditional figures of authority means CEOs are under no illusion about the need for more authentic communication to build trust and engagement among today's workforce.

This is one of the key findings in a new report, 21st Century Leadership Communication, produced by Melcrum and The Company Agency. In frank interviews with 18 CEOs and senior business leaders from a broad spectrum of organizations, words like "authenticity", "believability" and "genuineness" cropped up again and again when CEOs talked about their perceptions of good internal communication.

"There's a fair amount of spin that goes on that, in my opinion, isn't necessary," says Lori LeBas, Senior VP, Strategy and Business Operations at ESPN. "There's often a desire for the message to be positive -- the business is great, or earnings are up, etc. And I think employees are smart enough to understand that things aren't always going great."

Keeping it personal

The CEOs suggest that one of the key routes to authenticity is "keeping it personal" -- particularly now that employees have increased access to information and communicators need to break through the "noise" to connect with and engage them.

"I think a lot of us are coming down to a sleeves-rolled-up, sit-on-the- corner-of-the-desk approach, with 20 or 30 people at a time," says Keith Butler-Wheelhouse, CEO of Smiths Group. In addition, "even if you're talking to lots of people," advises Paolo Cavalieri, CEO of Hollard Insurance Group, "you want them to feel as though you're talking directly to them individually."

Frustration with management

The expectation that CEOs have for internal communication to play a stronger role in delivering more sincere and authentic messages was also highlighted. "Internal communication," says Rona Fairhead, CEO of The Financial Times Group, "is about making people feel part of an organization -- rather than cogs inside a big machine who don't really know what they're moving towards."

The CEOs interviewed also expressed frustration that other layers of management are unable or unwilling to step up and "do their bit" to improve the internal communication environment, often forcing the CEO to become a ready-made communication symbol and figurehead for everything.

"I'd like to see the next two or three levels of management regarding it as an absolutely core part of their role to be a more effective channel for two-way communication -- rather than the risk you often get of some tiers in management being the sticking point on communication," says Paul Gray, Chairman of HM Revenue & Customs.

Other themes to emerge from the research include conflicting priorities for CEOs and internal communicators, divided opinions about the role of social media, and the desire for a deeper understanding of employee issues that goes beyond the findings of the latest engagement survey. The report also includes a list of recommendations to help create more consistency between the communication goals and vision of both internal communicators and CEOs.

Notes

21st Century Leadership Communication is a new report produced by Melcrum and The Company Agency, which explores the attitudes and priorities of CEOs and senior business leaders when it comes to internal communication.

It is divided into two parts:

1. An executive summary, including recommendations for CEOs and senior business leaders

2. A detailed exploration of research findings, with recommendations for internal communicators.

The report closes with an Afterword by Malcolm Higgs, Professor of Organization Behavior and HR at the University of Southampton School of Management, which places the key research findings in the context of broader leadership research and thinking.

The research is based on in-depth interviews with 18 CEOs and senior business leaders from a broad range of countries:

    -- Keith Butler-Wheelhouse, CEO, Smiths Group plc
    -- Paddy Byng, CEO, Smythson
    -- Paolo Cavalieri, CEO, Hollard Insurance Group
    -- John Conover, President Americas Distribution, Trane
    -- Michael J. Critelli, Executive Chairman, Pitney Bowes
    -- Rona Fairhead, CEO, The Financial Times Group
    -- Iain Ferguson, Chief Executive, Tate & Lyle PLC
    -- Val Gooding, Chief Executive, BUPA
    -- Paul Gray, Chairman HM Revenue & Customs
    -- Hugh Harvey, Managing Director, Comet
    -- Jeremy Hicks, Director, Audi UK
    -- Lori LeBas, Senior VP, Strategy and Business Operations, ESPN
    -- Wim Roelandts, President and CEO, Xilinx
    -- Peter Rogers, CEO, Westminster City Council
    -- Truett Tate, Group Executive Director for Wholesale and International
       Banking, Lloyds TSB plc
    -- Jean-Pascal Tricoire, CEO Schneider Electric
    -- Mike Turner, CEO, BAE Systems
    -- Paul Walker, Chief Executive, The Sage Group plc

For more information, please contact: daniel.gregory@melcrum.com Or visit: http://www.melcrum.com/store/products/product.shtml?id=3799

About Melcrum

Melcrum is a research and training business, expert in all aspects of internal communication, with offices in London, Chicago and Sydney. Founded in 1996 by Robin Crumby and Victoria Mellor, Melcrum has customers in over 90 countries. Through its global networks, Melcrum connects more than 18,000 professional communicators in sharing what works.

    E-Mail: info@melcrum.com
    Website: http://www.melcrum.com
    Blog: http://www.melcrumblog.com

About The Company Agency

The Company Agency was founded in 2003 to provide communication consultancy to leaders and to ensure their communication is focused, compelling and consistent. Its offering falls into four categories: Focus on Leaders, The Corporate Story, Focus on Senior Management and Employee and Investor Programs.