(Download)

Working with Leaders and Other Staff

Part of the job of an effective communicator is to build good working relationships with union leaders and other staff. This is a two-way street, of course, but for our part there are principles we can apply to increase the chances of success.

1.    Ask and listen. When asked to do something to contribute to a campaign, ask for more background – not in the spirit of challenging the strategy but to be sure you understand it so you can make the most effective contribution.

Strategy

• What is our overall strategy to win? How does communications fit into that?
• If you look ahead a few days, or a week, or a month, or to the climax of the campaign, how would the campaign look at that point, and what does that tell us about communications steps now and along the way?
• What is our opposition’s strategy to win? What is their communications strategy?
• (For each target audience) Where do we think that audience starts out? What do we think they care about? How would our success benefit them? What do we want them to do?
• What’s already been put out to each audience? What was the reaction?
• Is there anything we’ve tried in the past that hasn’t worked and that we should learn from now?
• Have there been similar situations here or in other locals that we might learn from?

Logistics

• What’s the campaign timeline or calendar? When does each target audience need to be reached?
• Can we and how will we distribute whatever we produce in a way that it will reach the target audiences?
• Who else has facts or background I should get?
• Is there an efficient approval process in place as we produce materials? What is it?

2. Draw on past experience, training, best practices, opinion research – but adapt to each situation.

• Refer to these sources as possibly useful (but not necessarily the final word in every situation).
• Engage others in figuring out what applies and what may not.

3. Propose solutions that meet the stated goals, strategy, constraints, etc.

• Make clear that anything you are suggesting is in the spirit of how best to achieve the campaign goals.
• Draw on the ideas of others where applicable. That may not require using the exact language or approach they proposed but applying the essence of their idea.

4. Ask whether your proposed solutions work, and be open to modifications.

• Be open to the possibility that the other person may know more about the situation and may be right. Listen for facts and perspectives that may help you see what changes are needed.

• If you need to discuss feedback further, focus on those issues that matter to the campaign’s success. Don’t argue about matters of taste.
• Identify common ground. “Given our goal, let’s figure out how best to accomplish it…”
• Look for practical ways to make changes that accommodate the person’s concerns and still accomplish the stated strategic objectives.

• Recognize when you have pursued a disagreement as far as appropriate for the time being.

5. Understand the other person’s needs. Put yourself in their shoes.

• What pressures are they under? 
• How can you help them succeed?

6. Help others to understand the production process and to set priorities.

• Spell out project timelines for organizers, officers, or other staff that show how much time each step (quote gathering, writing, editing, designing, printing, etc.) takes so they understand the time and money necessary to produce the kind of piece being proposed. Many times either a deadline needs to be adjusted so a piece can be produced or the piece needs to be changed so it can be finished in time for a necessary deadline.
• Discuss priorities. Make sure that officers, organizers, and staff leaders understand the range of projects that you are working on. If you are asked to take on a new project that will absorb time that you had planned to use getting something else done, ask for help in figuring out what can be put on the back burner in order to get everything done.  

7. Show you are a team player.

• Earn respect by showing you work quickly and efficiently and are not rattled by unavoidably unpredictable and changing timetables.

• Avoid attitude and body language that create a reputation for “no se puede.”
• Keep perspective – it often takes time to build a good relationship.

8. Find appropriate times to be clear about your needs in order to be as effective a part of the team as possible:

• Opportunity to take part in the initial planning in order to hear the thinking that goes into the decisions, ask questions, and contribute ideas if appropriate.
• Advance warning of coming work when possible so you can do the job right.
• Planning so last-minute changes in assignments or strategy are confined to those that are unavoidable due to the ever-changing nature of campaigns.
• Help if what needs to be done by the deadline is more than one person can do.
• A clear and efficient approval process.
• Respect for the fact that at a certain point deadlines require that changes be limited to those that are necessary to win – “need to change,” not “nice to change.”

9. Pick the right time and way to raise working-relationship issues.

• Don’t let problems fester.
• If possible, bring them up when both of you are calm and not under intense deadline pressure.
• Often it’s better to discuss issues when not in front of other people.
• Actively do your part to prevent polarization and us-against-them dynamics.
• Humor often helps.

10. Encourage honest evaluation.

• What is working? What isn’t? What should we learn?
• What can each person do to contribute to better results both in terms of quality and process?
• Courtesy of TheWorkSite.org