Chain Of Communication Not The Chain Of Command
When I was a young person the phrase “chain of command” was something that would make me so frustrated and more often than not angry every time I heard it. I believed it was just a polite way of giving me the run around and putting as many people between what I felt the problem was and a real solution. I wasn’t sure exactly why but I suspected that it was because they didn’t care enough about what some kid had to say to do anything about it. The older I got the more I was told that it was a way to be more efficient and solve the problem closer to where it originated from for a better, more informed solution. It was a system of leadership with a variety of different ranks and positions. With maturity this made sense to me and I learned to accept it until…….
When I got out of college I had to take on some real leadership responsibilities in my first professional job. Prior to becoming a leader I relied on others to make the changes I felt necessary, now I was in a position to make changes, fix problems and act on the ideas of other people. But it was made clear to me by my supervisors that the chain of command was to keep things off of their plates that were “below their pay grade.” This took me back to what I had mentioned previously and it disappointed me. I realized that if I wanted to see a change in the chain of command then it was up to me to do it from the inside out.
I started to ask questions and really think about what I wanted the chain of command to look like for all of the different groups I was leading. The first thing I needed to do was to define what the chain of command was? Merriam Webster states that it’s “a series of executive positions in order of authority.” This makes sense and it definitely jibes with what I had been told a chain of command was supposed to do, but I still didn’t like it. Over the next couple of years I continued to ask myself what is the chain of command? It eventually came to me one day when I was listening to a problem that one of our staff members was having with a colleague. I couldn’t for the life of me understand why this problem was in front of me and why I was hearing about it for the first time from this staff member. This problem should have been reported to me by another supervisor first. This was especially frustrating given that the problem had been going on for months and the solution seemed so simple.
The chain of command in its most basic form is a communication tool. One person communicating with another about an idea, concern or set of problems that need attention. Once I realized this I asked myself what is the most important lesson about communication that I have ever learned? Communication has to be clear, concise and consistent. In my opinion these are the pillars that are central to having successful communication in a team or organization. A great example of how poor communication would occur with no real chain of command would be the following.
There is a race across the state you live in and you are going to compete. There are several teams in the race but each team must have five people, travel on foot, carry their own supplies and only use a compass to guide them from the start line to the finish line. If the communication in this group isn’t clear,if the decision making process lacks decisiveness and if you lack any real leaders in the group it could be nearly impossible to gain a consensus to even move a short distance let alone the entire distance across the state through the wilderness. Your group could have clear communication and have a great leadership structure developed but if you are not decisive or concise in your decision making it will most likely not reach its potential. You have to have all three of those pillars in order to have a chance to win the race. The day to day operations of your organization are no different.
Remember that young kid (me) I mentioned in the beginning who didn’t like the chain of command and thought it was an excuse. I wish somebody could’ve explained the chain of command to me from a communication perspective rather than the perspective of a hierarchical leadership structure. Think about how my experiences would have been different if they said we want to help you and we want to make sure we work together to share the message and concerns in a way that people understand them so we can work with our entire team to come up with a solution? That sounds a lot better than what is your problem? I will see what I can do? Or I will take it to my boss for consideration and get back to you? The first version seems like I’m being listened to and people really are taking action because we are actually communicating. The second version just sounds like excuses.
As leaders we need to make sure that we frame the chain of command as a tool for problem solving but we must remain aware that there are people that see it as nothing more than a way to give them the “run around.” For those people we have to take the extra time to show them that the chain of command is a communication tool that’s made to provide them with the best opportunity to be heard. In order to do this as leaders we need to be certain to act with integrity, be kind and to remain committed to serving the people involved in our organizations. Have a great week and remember when your commitment is greater than your feelings you get results.
