Management in real life: top communicators.

• Author: Herring, Kevin

Ah, the power of information! Both research and experience tells us that when employees understand how the business operates, can connect their work to company financials, and know what has to be done for the business to compete, they are likely to be more engaged. Why? Because they have context for what they do each day and the ability to contribute more. That's why some business leaders work so hard to communicate and share information with their employees.

Imagine information flowing through the organization like a warm summer breeze through an open window. Visualize employees working like a team of enthusiastic engineering students in their first concrete canoe competition. How do leaders create this? Let's take a look at some of the best companies in America to find out.

According to the Great Places to Work Institute's picks, most businesses should learn to lighten up and open up. One thing that qualifies a company as a top Institute pick is the kind of work environment that results from its communications practices.

In one small business of 112 employees, everyone reports to the CEO who spends a couple of days every month meeting with each of them in person. Now that's some reporting relationship. Although the Japanese have been working this way for decades, U.S. companies tend to set the limit for direct reports somewhere closer to 10--lower for CEOs--believing that workers can't be managed well if the manager has too many to keep track of. Perhaps the CEO in this company succeeds because he isn't managing, but leading.

Of course, the larger the business the more difficult CEO-to-core worker communication becomes ... at least face-to-face. What does a CEO of business unit leader do when total employees approaches 1,000? Those monthly meetings could eat up the whole month! One CEO has found a way to stay in contact without leaving the office, although he manages to get himself in front of the gang often enough. How does he do it? He's a CEO-blogger! He touches the whole workforce by blogging on company happenings using informal posts that anyone can access.

More common than blogs are frequent all-employee meetings that gives both leaders and employees a chance to share. One business holds open interactive forums each week for both employees and leaders to keep everyone current. Ah interesting twist by another company that holds quarterly all-employee meetings is that they ask non-managers to organize them so information that's...