ascendant communication

Ascendant communication …how easy to say and how difficult to channel. There is no doubt that it´s most efficent channel within the internal communication, but also the most difficult to design, formalize and promote.
This way has the characteristic of letting higher levels in the organization know what the rest of levels think about different aspects: job, decisions, politics, processes, results, products, clients, advertising, marketing, … and many other areas of the company. People can ask..is this important?, I don´t think there is a single answer, depending on each kind of company. All those companies which bet for innovation, competivity in a more globalized market, presence in sectors, consideration from their clients, … should consider ascendant communication as a tool for construction of such an important project.
The existing knowledge inside the organizations cannot be compared to any other knowledge. Only who is “inside” know better than anyone the strengths, the weaknesses, the threats and the opportunities. Asking them and considering their opinions is a decision which concerns only to the board of direction.
The way we work on this channel will clearly define our company culture. A company where ascendant communication works fluently is a sign of a healthy corporate culture.
In spite of all the positive things, is important to consider the big disadvantages of this communication channel, because knowing them we will be able to design i better. The main ones are:
1.The psychological distance imposed by hierarchy impedes listening attitudes.
2. Recompense systems mark the ideally positive character of the messages. When the positive information is awarded and on the other hand complaints are ignored or fined, ascendant messages are distort. Only positive messages will be communicated and exagerated omiting negative ones.
3. Usually individual innovations or own solutions to daily problems are not published.
4. No trust on hierarchy or worries about reprisals supports the criticism between friends or colleages in no institutional channels.
5. The lack of a participative culture promotes too hermetic and silenced behaviours. In other cases, the information is not passed to top because the person in charge of it has not the right vision of the kind of information required to make decissions.
Let´s design a corporate culture where the ascendant communication plays a leading role. An integrating role and useful to build horizontal and flat organizations, where team work is an important point in the ideology. Let´s make the ideas flow, and consider them as the most valuable term at this new stage of our society.