FACTOR II: OPERATING SKILLS
CLUSTER F: GETTING WORKDONE THROUGH OTHERS
27 Informing
The mind revels in conjecture. Where information is lacking, it will gladly fill in the gaps. James Geary –
American author and former editor of Time magazine Europe
Section 1: Your Development Need(s)
Unskilled
 Not a consistent communicator
 Tells too little or too much
 Tells too late; timing is off
 May be unclear, may inform some better than others
 May not think through who needs to know by when
 Doesn’t seek or listen to the data needs of others
 May inform but lack follow-through
 May either hoard information or not see informing as important
 May only have one mode—written or oral or e-mail
Select one to three of the competencies listed below to use as a substitute for this competency if you decide not to
work on it directly.
Substitutes: 1,3,13,18,20,31,33,34,35,44,60
Skilled
 Provides the information people need to know to do their jobs and to feel good about being a member of
the team, unit, and/or the organization
 Provides individuals information so that they can make accurate decisions
 Is timely with information
Overused Skill
 May provide too much information
 May upset people by giving them information they can’t handle or preliminary information that turns out not
to be true
Select one to three of the competencies listed below to work on to compensate for an overuse of this skill.
Compensators: 2,8,11,12,22,29,33,38,41,47,48,50,52,64
Some Causes
 Don’t think it’s needed
 Inform some better than others
 Little informing
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 Sporadic informing
 Too busy
 Too late in informing
 Unclear informing
 Use the wrong informing method

Leadership Architect® Factors and Clusters
This competency is in the Operating Skills Factor (II). This competency is in the Getting Work Done Through
Others Cluster (F) with: 18, 19, 20, 35. You may want to check other competencies in the same Factor/Cluster
for related tips.
The Map
Although it seems a simple skill, Informing ranks 52nd out of 67 (low) competencies in terms of skill proficiency
in our research on the Leadership Architect®. Informing also has a very high return on investment. Things go
better. People are more motivated. Are you too busy? A minimal communicator? Only inform to meet your
needs? You don’t package information or think through who needs to know what by when? This can lead to
some bad consequences for others and you. Maybe that’s why they rate Informing as 21st of 67 (high) in
importance! It’s a simple and important skill that many do not do well or enough of.
Section 2: Learning on Your Own
These self-development remedies will help you build your skill(s).
Some Remedies
 1. Are you open? Share your thinking. Do you think if they were any good they would figure it out
themselves? You didn’t need much information when you were in their jobs. To help those around you
grow and learn from what you know, you have to sometimes think out loud. You have to share your
thinking from the initial presentation of the issue through to conclusion. Most of us are on thinking autopilot.
We don’t think about thinking. When someone else has to or wants to understand how you came up with a
decision, it’s sometimes difficult to unravel it in your mind. You have to go step-by-step and recreate your
thinking. Sometimes it helps if other people ask the questions. They can probably guide you through how
you came up with an answer or a decision better than you can. Once in a while, you should document a
decision or two. What was the issue? What were the pros and cons you considered? How did you weight
things? Then you can use those examples to demonstrate to others how you make decisions. More help? –
See #17 Decision Quality.
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 2. Don’t inform enough? Paint a big picture. Are you a minimalist? Do you tell people only what they
need to know to do their little piece of the puzzle? People are motivated by being aware of the bigger
picture. They want to know what to do in order to do their jobs and more. How does what they are doing fit
into the larger picture? What are the other people working on and why? Many people think that’s
unnecessary information and that it would take too much time to do. They’re wrong. The sense of doing
something worthwhile is the number two motivator at work! It results in a high return on motivation and
productivity. (Try to increase the amount of more-than-your-job information you share.) Focus on the
impact on others by figuring out who information affects. Put five minutes on your meeting agenda. Ask
people what they want to know and assuming it’s not confidential information, tell them. Pick a topic each
month to tell your people about.
 3. Do you work alone? Freely share information. Do you keep to yourself? Work alone or try to? Do you
hold back information? Do you parcel out information on your schedule? Do you share information to get
an advantage or to win favor? Do people around you know what you’re doing and why? Are you aware of
things others would benefit from but you don’t take the time to communicate? In most organizations, these
things and things like it will get you in trouble. Organizations function on the flow of information. Being on
your own and preferring peace and privacy are OK as long as you communicate things to bosses, peers
and teammates that they need to know and would feel better if they knew. Don’t be the source of surprises.
 4. Lacking the basics? Focus on fundamental communication principles. Some people just aren’t
good at informing. Their communication styles are not effective. The most effective communicators,
according to behavioral research studies: Speak often, but briefly (15-30 seconds); ask more questions
than others; make fewer solution statements early in a discussion; headline their points in a sentence or
two; summarize frequently, and make more frequent ―here’s where we are‖ statements; invite everyone to
share their views; typically interject their views after others have had a chance to speak, unless they are
passing on decisions. Compare these practices to yours. Work on those that are not up to standard.
 5. Inconsistent informer? Get organized and be consistent. Have an information checklist detailing
what information should go to whom; pass on summaries or copies of important communications.
Determine the information checklist by: keeping tabs on unpleasant surprises people report to you; ask
direct reports what they’d like to know to do their jobs better; and check with boss, peers and customers to
see if you pass along too little, enough, or too much of the right kinds of information. It’s important to know
what to pass, to whom to pass, and when to pass, to become an effective informer.
 6. Need to get to the next level? Polish your technique. Eliminate disruptive habits such as using the
same words too often, hesitating, having frequent filler words like ―you know‖ and ―uh,‖ speaking too rapidly
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or forcefully, using strongly judgmental words, or going into too much detail that leaves listeners bored or
wondering what the point is. Are you a complexifier? Simplify and emphasize. Vary the volume and length
of time spoken to emphasize key points and maintain the interest of others. Outline complex
arguments/processes on paper or overheads or charts to make them easy to follow. Use visual aids. Use
common action words, simple examples or visual catch phrases to cement information transfer. More help?
– See #49 Presentation Skills and #67 Written Communications.
 7. Selective informer? Inform up, down, and sideways. The most common selective pattern is informing
up and out but not down or sideways. When these people get their 360° feedback reports, there is a
discrepancy among groups on informing. Some groups rate it high and others lower. That means there is
not a skills block. You can inform. There is an attitude filter. I will inform some but not others. Why? What
do you gain with one group that you lose with another? Is it personal? Are you gaining by sharing? At the
expense of others? Why are you avoiding one group? Do you fear debate?
 8. Time to blow the whistle? Inform thoughtfully and courageously. A tough call. Do you know
something others should but when they find out, there will be noise and trouble? Saying what needs to be
said to the right person in a timely way takes courage. Everybody sees things, observes things, knows
things or learns about things that others should know. Many times it’s not positive information. Something
is about to go wrong. Something is being covered up. Someone is holding back an important piece of
information. Someone or something is going off in the wrong direction. It’s good news and bad news. If you
inform, the organization may gain. But a person or some people may lose. Generally, your best bet is to
find the right person and inform. More help? – See #34 Managerial Courage.
 9. Ready for the fallout? Deal with the heat. Informing is not always benign and friendly. It many times
generates heat. Defensiveness. Blame. Attacks. Threats. Many times they want to shoot the messenger.
Separate the passion from the message. Avoid direct blaming remarks. Deal with people issues directly but
separately and maybe off line. If attacked for delivering bad news, you can always say nothing or ask a
clarifying question. People will usually respond by saying more, coming off their position a bit, or at least
revealing their interests. More help? – See #12 Conflict Management.
 10. Too rigid in style? Adapt to your audience. Unfortunately, one method or style of informing does not
play equally well across audiences. Many times you will have to adjust the tone, pace, style and even the
message and how you couch it for different audiences. If you are delivering the same message to multiple
people or audiences, always ask yourself how are they different? Some differences among people or
audiences include level of sophistication, friendly vs. unfriendly, time sensitivity, whether they prefer it in
writing or not and whether a logical or emotional argument will play better. Write or tell? Writing is usually
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best for the extremes—complex descriptions complete with background and five or six progressive
arguments, or on the other side, straightforward, unambiguous things people need to know. You should
generally tell when it requires discussion or you are alerting them to a problem. Make a read on each
person and each audience and adjust accordingly. More help? – See #15 Customer Focus and #45
Personal Learning.
 11. Going overboard? Avoid bombarding. Over informing can sometimes be worse than not informing
enough. One study showed the average employee gets 2.3 million words over three months. Distinguish
need-to-know from nice-to-know. Think twice before hitting cc:. Bombarded by overstimulation, the brain
stops processing information to prevent psychological burnout. In that respect, too much is worse than too
little.
Section 3: Learning from Feedback
These sources would give you the most accurate and detailed feedback on your skill(s).
 1. Direct Reports
Across a variety of settings, your direct reports probably see you the most. They are the recipients of most
of your managerial behaviors. They know your work. They can compare you with former bosses. Since
they may hesitate to give you negative feedback, you have to set the atmosphere to make it easier for
them. You have to ask.
 2. Internal and External Customers
Customers interact with you as a person and as a supplier or vendor of products and services. You’re
important to them because you can either help address and solve their problems or stand in their way. In
customer service and programs such as TQM, ISO and Six Sigma, clients and customers become a more
prominent source of feedback.
 3. Peers and Colleagues
Peers and colleagues have a special social and working relationship. They attend staff meetings together,
share private views, get feedback from the same boss, travel together, and are knowledgeable about each
other’s work. You perhaps let your guard down more around peers and act more like yourself. They can be
a valuable source of feedback.
Section 4: Learning from Develop-in-Place Assignments
These part-time develop-in-place assignments will help you build your skill(s).
 Integrate diverse systems, processes, or procedures across decentralized and/or dispersed units.
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 Establish security procedures for a building or floor.
 Manage something ―remote,‖ away from your location.
 Lobby for your organization on a contested issue in local, regional, state, or federal government.
 Represent the organization at a trade show, convention, exposition, etc.
 Be a change agent; create a symbol for change; lead the rallying cry; champion a significant change and
implementation.
 Create employee involvement teams.
 Teach a course, seminar, or workshop on something you know a lot about.
 Become someone’s assigned mentor, coach, sponsor, champion, or guide.
 Take over for someone on vacation, leave of absence, or on a long trip.
Section 5: Learning from Full-Time Jobs
These full-time jobs offer the opportunity to build your skill(s).
 1. Change Manager
The core demands to qualify as a Change Manager are: (1) Leader of a significant effort to change
something or implement something of significance. (2) Success and failure will be evident. (3) Always
something new and unique to the organi-zation. (4) Must get many others to buy in and cooperate. (5)
Involves cross-boundary change. (6) High visibility sponsor. (7) Exposure to significant decision makers
and key stakeholders. (8) Resistance is expected and near-universal. (9) Cost of failure is significant.
Examples include: (1) Total Work Systems like TQM, ISO, or Six Sigma. (2) Business restructurings like a
move away from a core competence and into a new product space or industry, i.e., American carmakers
move into smaller, more fuel-efficient products. (3) Installing major systems (like an ERP or HRIS) and
procedures for the first time. (4) M&A integrations, responding to major competitor initiatives that threaten
the organization. (5) Extensive reorganizations. (6) Long-term post-corporate scandal recovery.
 2. Scope Assignments
The core demands for a Scope (complexity) assignment are: (1) Significant in-crease in both internal and
external scope or complexity. (2) Significant increase in visibility and/or bottom-line responsibility. (3)
Unfamiliar area, business, technol-ogy, or territory. Examples of Scope assignments involving shifts: (1)
Switching to new function/technology/business. (2) Moving to new organization. (3) Moving to overseas
assignment. (4) Moving to new location. (5) Adding new products/services. (6) Moving between
headquarters/field. (7) Switches in ownership/top management of the unit/organization. Examples of Scope
assignments involving ―firsts‖: (1) First-time manager. (2) First-time managing managers. (3) First-time
executive. (4) First-time overseas. (5) First-time headquarters/field. (6) First-time team leader. (7) First-time
new technology/business/function. Scope assignments involving increased complexity: (1) Managing a
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significant expansion of an existing product or service. (2) Managing adding new products/services into an
existing unit. (3) Managing a reorganized and more diverse unit. (4) Managing explosive growth. (5) Adding
new technologies.
 3. Significant People Demands
Core demands required to qualify as a Significant People Demands assignment are: (1) A sizable increase
in either the number of people managed and/or the complexity of the challenges involved. (2) Longer-term
assignment (two or more years). (3) Quality of people management is critical to achieving results. (4)
Involves groups not worked with before (e.g., union, new technical areas, nationalities). Examples of
Significant People Demands jobs would be: (1) Downsizing a department—making staff changes. (2)
Leading an organization through a reorganization or restructuring. (3) Managing a newly merged business
unit comprised of people from disparate units/cultures. (4) Rebuilding a team that has a history of conflict or
hardship. (5) Mentoring and coaching inexperienced people. (6) Leading geographically distributed teams.
(7) Absorbing a new team/unit into an existing structure. (8) Leading a company or function with a rapidly
growing employee base.
 4. Staff Leadership (Influencing Without Authority)
The core demands to qualify as Staff Leadership are: (1) Significant challenge (e.g., start-up, fix-it, scope
and/or scale assignment, strategic planning project, changes in management practices/systems). (2)
Insufficient direct authority to make it happen. (3) Tight deadlines. (4) Visible to significant others. (5)
Sensitive politics. Examples of Staff Leadership (Influencing Without Authority) jobs would be: (1) Leading
a support function without P&L responsibilities. (2) Managing an internal consulting function for the
organization (e.g., OD or HR consultant). (3) Project manager of a cross-functional or cross-departmental
initiative. (4) Managing a cross-functional, matrixed team.
Section 6: Learning from Your Plan
These additional remedies will help make this development plan more effective for you.
Learning to Learn Better
 1. Consult with Expert in the Area of Concern for You
Consult with an outside expert in the area you’re dealing with, someone especially skilled and known;
describe your situation the best you can, and openly and receptively listen to the advice and counsel the
expert provides. Try the advice before you reject it.
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 2. Form a Learning Network with Others Working on the Same Problem
Look for people in similar situations, and create a process for sharing and learning together. Look for a
variety of people inside and outside your organization. Give feedback to each other; try new and different
things together; share successes, failures, and lessons.
 3. Study People Who Have Successfully Done What You Need to Do
Interview people who have already done what you’re planning to do and check your plan against what they
did. Try to summarize their key tactics, strategies, and insights; adjust your plan accordingly.
 4. Pre-Sell an Idea to a Key Stakeholder
Identify the key stakeholders—those who will be the most affected by your actions or the most resistant, or
whose support you will most need. Collect the information each will find persuasive; marshal your
arguments and try to pre-sell your conclusions, recommendations, and solutions.
 5. Work with a Development Partner
Find a person you trust to be both candid and constructive and team up with him/her. Construct effective
strategies together. Give each other feedback; role-play tactics with each other.
 6. Preview a Plan with a Test Audience
Before committing to a plan, find someone agreeable to a wide-ranging discussion about the issue or
problem you face. Explore all sides and options; go with the flow; let what you need to do emerge from the
process; develop a plan as you go.
Learning from Experience, Feedback, and Other People
 7. Being a Teacher of Others
Teaching others a skill you possess is a powerful way to learn from your students and about yourself.
Decide what skill you have that you could teach direct reports, a child, or a friend. In what areas could you
be a mentor or tutor? Ask yourself why this is a strength for you. What are the first items you would teach
as the keys to help others form umbrellas for understanding? Get feedback from others on why this is a
strength for you and what you do behaviorally that makes it so. When teaching and coaching, watch the
students carefully for their reactions. What works and doesn’t work for you as a coach? Write down your
rules of thumb on what works for you that helps others. Get feedback from your students on what you do
well and not so well as a teacher/coach.
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 8. Giving Feedback to Others
Most managers complain they don’t get enough useful feedback. Ironically, their direct reports and peers
offer the same complaint! Getting serious about feedback for yourself involves giving more feedback to
those around you. As you practice giving more feedback to others, you will receive more by the example
you set and will become more sensitive and receptive to your own.
Learning from Courses
 9. Supervisory Courses
Most new supervisors go through an ―Introduction to Supervision‖ type course. They are designed to teach
the common practices a first-line supervisor needs to know to be effective. The content of most of those
courses is standard. There is general agreement on the principles of effective supervision. There are two
common problems: (1) Do the students have a strong motivation to learn? Do they know what they don’t
know? Is there any pain? Because motivated students with a need for the knowledge learn best,
participants should have had some trying experiences and some supervisory pain and hardships before
attending. (2) Are the instructors experienced supervisors? Have they practiced what they preach? Can
they share powerful anecdotes to make key points? Can they answer questions credibly? If possible, select
supervisory courses based on the instructors, since the content seems to be much the same for all such
courses. Lastly, does the course offer the opportunity for practicing each skill? Does it contain simulations?
Are there case studies you could easily identify with? Are there breakout groups? Is there opportunity for
action learning? Search for the most interactive course.
 10. Sending Others to Courses
If you are responsible for managing the development of others and, as part of that, sending them to
courses, prepare them beforehand. Don’t send them as tourists. Meet with them before and after the
course. Tell them why they need this course. Tell them what you expect them to learn. Give them feedback
on why you think they need the course. Agree ahead of time how you will measure and monitor learning
after they return. If possible, offer a variety of courses for your employees to choose from. Have them give
you a report shortly after they return. If appropriate, have them present what they learned to the rest of your
staff. After they return, provide opportunities for using the new skills with safe cover and low risk. Give them
practice time before expecting full exercise of the new skills. Be supportive during early unsteadiness. Give
continuous feedback on progress.
There must be a happy medium somewhere between being totally informed and blissfully unaware.
Doug Larson – English middle-distance runner and Gold Medal winner, 1924 Olympics
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Suggested Readings
Allee, V. (2002). The future of knowledge: Increasing prosperity through value networks. Boston: ButterworthHeinemann.
Baldoni, J. (2003). Great communication secrets of great leaders. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Bough, B., & Condrill, J. (2005). 101 Ways to improve your communication skills instantly. San Antonio, TX:
GoalMinds, Inc.
Bruck, B. (2003). Taming the information tsunami. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press.
Davis and Company Staff, & Davis, A. (Ed.) (2005). 21 Strategies for improving employee communication.
Glen Rock, NJ: Davis & Company, Inc.
Holtz, S. (2004). Corporate conversations: A guide to crafting effective and appropriate internal
communications. New York: AMACOM.
Keyton, J. (2002). Communicating in groups: Building relationships for effective decision making. New York:
McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Langford-Wood, N., & Salter, B. (2002). Critical corporate communications: A best practice blueprint. West
Sussex, England: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Matha, B., Boehm, M., & Silverman, M. (2008). Beyond the babble: Leadership communication that drives
results. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Patriotta, G. (2004). Organizational knowledge in the making: How firms create, use, and institutionalize
knowledge. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Perlow, L. (2003). When you say yes but mean no: How silencing conflict wrecks relationships and
companies…and what you can do about it. New York: Crown Business.
Probst, G. J. B., Raub, S., & Romhardt, K. (2000). Managing knowledge: Building blocks for success. New
York: John Wiley & Sons.
Runion, M. (2004). Perfect phrases for managers and supervisors: Hundreds of ready-to-use phrases for any
management situation. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Smith, L., & Mounter, P. (2008). Effective international communication. London: Kogan Page Limited.
Thatchenkery, T. (2004). Appreciative sharing of knowledge: Leveraging knowledge management for strategic
change. Chagrin Falls, OH: Taos Institute.
Weeks, H. (2008). Failure to communicate: How conversations go wrong and what you can do to right them.
Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
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