How to manage all-employee email communications

Every time I write up an org-wide communication related to major changes, I consistently apply the lessons that I learned from Annie Christiansen and Kathy Gowell during my time working with them at MuleSoft/Salesforce. Spending most of my early and middle career in more technical roles, my communication style had a tendency lean towards the technical (and wordy). Annie and Kathy did an amazing job helping me step back and reframe my communications to be focused, prioritize the crucial information first, and apply empathy (we're not all engineers in the tech world). I've templated, to a large degree, the key messaging points I picked up from them • What's happening? (𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵) • What does this mean for me? (𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥? 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰?)  • Why is this happening? (𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵!) • I still have questions, where should I bring them to? (𝘚𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘴, 𝘦𝘵𝘤) These four stanzas are present in nearly 99% of my major comms. They work when updating the staff about major security threats (such as vishing/smishing campaigns), changes to org-wide systems (such SSO/MFA improvements), and so much more. Most importantly, bring empathy to all comms. Try, as best as you can, to put yourself on the receiving end of the communication you're sending and challenge yourself with the question "is the information framed in a way that I and my peers would feel informed & engaged if we were the recipients"

𝗘𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 = 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 (𝗘𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀) “I thought the message was clear.” But then I’d get: • 3 follow-up emails. • 2 missed deadlines. • And 1 frustrated teammate. If you’ve ever led a remote team, you know: 📧 Miscommunication isn't about laziness— It’s about ambiguity. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘁. Over the years of coaching executives, here’s what I’ve noticed: The best leaders don’t just send messages. They design communication for clarity, structure, and emotional connection. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝘁 👇 (I broke it down in the infographic attached.) 🔎 𝟯 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: 💡 𝟭. 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 – 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 → 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴: “Quick update” or “Touching base” → 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴: “Client Feedback Needed by EOD” or “Budget Review: Final Draft Approval” 💡 𝟮. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 – 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 → Use bullet points, bold key dates, and keep paragraphs short → Structure builds speed—especially for teams juggling multiple threads 💡 𝟯. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 – 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 → Add warmth and context: “𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭” + “𝘈𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬’𝘴 𝘴𝘺𝘯𝘤…” → It’s not fluff—it’s trust-building. 📊 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁? ✅ Fewer back-and-forths ✅ Faster decisions ✅ A team that feels informed, respected, and aligned 👋 If you’re leading a remote or hybrid team, and you're tired of the fog that comes with virtual communication… This is where real leadership shows up—not in more emails, but better ones. — 🧠 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿? Subscribe to my free newsletter and get the full DNA of Influence™ framework— A proven system to boost executive presence, influence, and clarity in any room (or Zoom). 🔗 [Link In The Comment Section] #leadership #peakimpactmentorship  #communication #remotework #dnaofinfluence #emailtips

As consumers, we expect information to come to us. I used to think personalized ads were creepy, but now I'm just thankful. Sometimes, ads are so calibrated that I'm like, "Thank you for showing me exactly what I needed/wanted to see" 🙏 Get this: Companies know more about their employees than their customers, yet 72% of companies blast the same message to all (Gallup). Starting to see the disconnect here? ⛓️💥 Would you ever read a newsletter... that's not meant for YOU? Your employees aren’t dodging you. The reality is you only have 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒔 to capture their attention before they scroll or archive. There are now 𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 in the workplace. You must think like an internal marketer. Otherwise, your messages will continue going unread. I like dos and don'ts, so here are a few I learned from our customers: ❌ Don't force your employees to log into something to digest information. ✅ Meet them where they are. YOU need to provide the versatility. ❌ Don't rely on one medium across all your employees e.g. newsletters. ✅ Diversify multiple formats of content to match mediums to mindsets. ❌ Don't send your message once and expect information absorption. ✅ Schedule a series of 7-8 touch points to reinforce the message. It doesn't need to be boring; it can be fun! And what's in it for you? Well, companies that hyper-personalize see 3x higher engagement and 40% lower turnover (McKinsey). 🧪 TRY THIS EXPERIMENT 🥽 Create dynamic content in your newsletter tailored toward your exact audience by department and region to start. Ask the Department Head to write a few relevant sentences at the top (above the fold) and include a background image of their local city... ... then say what you need to say. Notice your uptick in readership and reactions. Continue experimenting, iterating, and sharing tangible data back to the business. Master the art of how to capture your employee's attention... ... and you'll become a very popular internal communicator in no time. Don't be surprised if people ask you to help them with their campaigns 🏆