Today’s episode is about something you might have tried before, or didn’t know existed, but that is the communication cascade.

This is a strategy that’s been used since the beginning of time - where we give information to senior leaders, and we expect them to pass it on to their next line of leaders, then we expect them to pass it on to their teams.

The reasoning behind it is pretty solid - people are more likely to listen to and trust the information coming from their direct leader, than from any other source. There’s been some wide-ranging research into that, and it really reinforces why good leadership and good relationships are so important, particularly when it comes to the effectiveness of your communication.

Also, one central person and one central comms team cannot possibly communicate personally with every member of an organisation.

So the logic is sound … however, humans get in the way!

What often ends up happening is the message gets diluted or misconstrued by the time it ends up at the team member level; or there’s the permafrost layer - usually at middle management level - where the message gets trapped and just doesn’t go any further.

What we really want leaders to do is not only pass on a message, but make it relevant to their teams, and personalise it to reach their audience.

So while our comms strategies might have a cascade element with the best of intentions, the reality is that they often aren’t successful.

So, how do you navigate it when you can’t personally communicate with every individual?

That’s what we’re going to tackle today - how to still use the communication cascade, but put in place some strategies to give you a better chance of success!

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#12 Three ways to avoid the broken communication cascade