Hear directly from our business community leaders in this corporate partner series! Lindsi Taylor, Columbia Distributing’s Director of Corporate Communications (and University of Portland alumnus!) shares how the “Why” is infused to everyday culture at Columbia Distributing.
Contributed by Lindsi Taylor
Why the WHY is more important than ever
During this fragile time where we’re up against post-pandemic trauma and so many people taking stock of how they want to fill their time, where they want to work, Columbia Distributing’s big focus is improving how it can build a greater sense of inclusion and belonging within its 3,000+ workforce. One way is by improving how we communicate the why to our workforce. Why we’re changing a process, why we’re evolving our leadership structure, why we’re partnering with a new great beverage supplier, and so on… As head of corporate communications for the past 7+ years, crafting the executive talking points and corporate announcement key messages has been job #1; however, once the email is sent and the press release is issued, it shouldn’t stop there. It can’t stop there if we truly want to build trust, communication and collaboration with a workforce made up of various roles, responsibilities and tenure.
Are our mid-level managers armed with the right messages to explaining the why to the people in the warehouse loading the trucks? Does the new receptionist or intern know their why so they can understand how they impact our five-year growth strategy? Will the young merchandiser who works 100% in the trade and not a single day in the corporate office be able to understand why our goals are relevant to their job?
One sweeping set of key messages, acronyms and corporate jargon does not get everyone excited about their piece of the puzzle. We all need to know that what we’re doing plays a meaningful part of the larger picture. And this takes a conscious effort and thoughtful work from every leader and every manager to break down the why.
We’re hopeful that by improving how we give voice to the why behind Columbia’s purpose, mission and strategy, that we’ll tap into a more sustainable, fruitful way to build and maintain a workforce that is motivated through a greater sense of inclusion and belonging.
To learn more about Lam Research, please visit https://www.coldist.com/