Elimininating Organizational Noise by Following the Chain of Command

You might think good communication is when everyone has all of the information available and the Open Door Policy is so open, that anyone with an issue can take it to anyone else. But sometimes, this kind of communication is overwhelming, confusing and can make it unclear where one’s focus should be. Kind of like going to the buffet and you can’t find the hand-carved roast beef in the sea of underwhelming pasta entrees and salads. Employees and managers need to understand and follow the Chain of Command.

I have noticed that when everyone is focused on everything, things seldom get accomplished or take much longer to finalize as they make their way through every single department. With so many employees and customers, we have learned to organize things into groups to focus the right people on the right problems and follow the appropriate Chain of Command. 

For example, in my company when an manager is concerned about an issue a customer is having, they need to communicate it to the right person, the person who is designated to quickly apply a solution that addresses that customer’s specific needs. If the manager instead takes the issue to someone who is not able to offer and implement a solution, it becomes little more than organizational noise. 

It is this idea of the Chain of Command, an unbroken line of reporting relationships that extends through the entire organization, that can eliminate the feelings of fear or frustration that happens when people are aware of an issue they have no ability to influence. These feelings can easily get in the way of focusing on the issues that one can impact. Chain of Command makes it very clear to whom employees are accountable to and to whom they should go to with a problem.

Of course, as a leader, you still want to encourage open communication, feedback, and discussion. You can still have an Open Door Policy with the expectation that employees will go to their immediate supervisors first and will have some understanding of what steps to take to resolve an issue before going up the Chain of Command.

Does your organization have a clear Chain of Command? How many emails do you get each day that distract you from areas that really require your attention and focus? Here are three methods to really utilize the Chain of Command to keep your focus in the right places:

1. Set weekly goals to help you concentrate on the right things.
2. Make sure that only influencers are being copied on emails before pushing the send button.
3. Concentrate on the things that you know you impact. Stay informed yes, but keep everything else in your periphery.
4. Always respect the chain of command.

The reality is that we each have a limited amount of time and resources to spend in this life. If we concentrate on the wrong things, we risk running out the clock before accomplishing our true objectives. So to help ourselves and keep those around us focused in the right direction, we need to with those inside our chain of command who have an ability to impact the outcome and treat everything else as a distraction.