We all know we do it.
We are in a Teams meeting, a ZOOM, or a Webex paying attention with good intent, and then
we send a message to a colleague using the “back channel” to communicate. Most of the time these back-channel communications are productive and obviously, some of them are snarky. This blog is focused on an innovation born from a disruption that is changing the way people do business.
The pandemic and going virtual have changed a lot of things and this is one that I don’t think gets enough recognition. The concept, as a Training & Development professional helping clients in the areas of Business Acumen, Business Leadership, and Strategic Selling, is understanding how to harness and fine-tune a new way of communicating that has a profound impact on business results,
Consider the following…
Business Acumen - Communicating Strategy
I recently worked with a leader running a global business that is experiencing significant challenges in terms of having enough products to meet the demands of its customers. As part of her evolved business strategy, the company decided to raise prices, narrow its product line, and freeze hiring while revenue and profits stabilized. Knowing that these business decisions would cause significant concern within the organization, the leader did something fascinating. In preparation for an “all hands” meeting announcing the changes, she asked her senior staff to identify key stakeholders in the audience to target and “backchannel” during the presentation. For example, the VP, of Sales was asked to target the top salespeople during the presentation on Teams with messages such as, “What do you think? Are we able to raise prices by 12%? Are you in support of this strategy?” In all, the senior staff sent more than 500 back-channel messages to gain support and influence the key stakeholders during the strategy presentation.
Business Leadership – Creating an Environment of Psychological Safety
Over the past few months, I have been writing a new business simulation called, Leading an Environment of Psychological Safety.” As part of our research, we interviewed leaders in large companies to gain their insights and stories about how they are creating environments of psychological safety on their teams. One story jumped out at me. One of the leaders I spoke with shared a method he uses during meetings to be more inclusive and to make sure people feel comfortable speaking up. Before each meeting, he assigns a “Psych Safety Coach” to remind him to pause and encourage psychological safety. Through a backchannel Teams chat, the Psych Safety Coach sends messages such as, “Say: I encourage you all to share your feelings and opinions, say: Thank you Olivia for speaking up and challenging the status quo, say: it’s important to note that Gregg ‘s team missed the target, but they realized why and are able to solve it for next quarter.”
Selling – A Diverse Approach
It’s been known for years that direct selling is one of the most expensive parts of doing business. The time, the travel, the meals, the hotels, etc. Much of that went away during the pandemic and it doesn’t look like it’s going to return. Replacing the in-person sales meeting is a much more efficient and much more effective virtual sales meeting. The benefits are great. First of all, you can have more people attend. Smart sales professionals invite technical experts, other sales professionals, their managers, and others who may add value. They are even smarter when they set up a backchannel during the sales meeting. In the backchannel, they can navigate every element of the sales meeting, ask others to speak up, and control the pace. When done right, selling will never be the same.
Summary
In summary, using the backchannel is changing the way businesspeople execute strategy, lead others, and sell. Successful business professionals are levering the tools and learning how to take advantage of opportunities. Another innovation that comes from disruption!
