Enhancing Workplace Communication and Productivity

The Importance of the Huddle in American Football

The huddle in the American football league is a critical part of the sport’s communication and strategy. It originated in 1894 when a deft quarterback at Gallaudet University used sign language to relay plays to his teammates and formed a huddle to prevent opponents from stealing the signs. 

Communication Lessons for the Workplace

While you can impress your friends during a Super Bowl party by knowing the history of the huddle, you might make the wrong impression at work when you keep things confidential. Ask yourself, “Is there a good reason not to share this information?” Sharing both good and bad information can be empowering to the people you rely on to get results. Open communication can build trust, create feelings of ownership, surface issues faster, and generate useful feedback.

What Information Should Be Shared in the Huddle?

What kinds of things do people want to know? 

• Coming changes 
• The big picture–where is the organization headed? 
• Things that are going to impact their work 
• Performance feedback 
• Results, especially when their performance contributed 
• What is happening in the industry or profession? 
• What is being discussed in board meetings? 

Lean toward transparency. You obviously make the call whether information gets shared but remember it is easier to win when your employees do not feel like they are on the opposing team.

Research Insights on Communication and Productivity

Much research has been done to analyze the link between communication and productivity. The research recognized and observed that company information shared by supervisors positively influenced productivity of workers, middle managers, and top managers. Sharing information impacted managers more than workers and played a role in higher productivity. The degree of impact when comparing the perceptions of workers with the perceptions of managers varies, but a high percentage of employees at all levels when asked felt that more open communication mattered.

Building Trust Through Communication

Consider your own situation and how information shared sheds light how communication may encourage higher productivity for you in your workplace. One obvious reason is the trust between workers and middle managers and between middle managers and top managers which influences individual motivation and performance. When this type of support is given in oral communication, it relates positively to individuals’ perceptions of management’s supportiveness and friendliness. Perceived support creates trust that the organization will fulfill its obligations by rewarding employees’ efforts. The result indicates that a trusting relationship was positively related to measures of communication management, suggesting that those employees receiving positive communication are more likely to be motivated to form trusting relationships with the management level. 

The basis for popular conclusions about the link between productivity and communication is consistently tied to access to company information. Any academic analysis aside, the practical way to benefit from the team is to “open up.” Share more information. Talk with employees and managers about the direction of the company, both the good and the bad. Trust others by including them in conversations about coming changes and especially about results. 

In a non-profit board I serve on, we seek to find good people and want than to stay with the organization as long as we can. Our culture and human resource leader have produced a saying that is helpful and productive “We are building an organization which everyone tells the truth every day — not because everyone is honest, but because everyone has access to the same information: operating metrics, financial data, valuation estimates. The more people understand what is really going on in the organization, the more eager they are to help solve its problems in a more productive way. 

Communicating to Win

The American football huddle is a visual reminder of an important leadership behavior: Communicating. Talk about the plan, about the way the team works together, and about the impact.

Remember, “You cannot, not communicate.”  You are always communicating. People are worth the investment, so ask yourself, “Is there a good reason not to share this information?” 

Limiting communication to a small group of your employees can stunt the growth of your organization. “Open up” when you can and watch the productivity climb.