by Laura Stack, MBA, CSP, CPAE

"Over-communicating is the glue that holds a high-performing team together and keeps them focused in the same direction. And, it circles back to clarity. Without good, consistent communication, you don’t have clarity." ―  Lee Ellis, leadership consultant, author, presenter, retired colonel, USAF.

As managers, it's drilled into us that we shouldn't micromanage —that instead, we should hire well-qualified, intelligent self-starters, then give them their instructions and get out of the way. And while this strategy is generally sound, you’ll always find some exceptions that test the rule. 

In recent years, some business experts have begun backing off a bit from the approach outlined above, expounding on the virtues of overcommunication. In the past, we've been told not to overwhelm employees with information, and ideally to establish a single type of communication—whether face-to-face meeting, email, or phone — by which to convey our instructions. Overcommunicate subverts those concepts. But while it may seem intrusive, this doesn't mean it it's unnecessary. The business landscape has changed significantly in the past five years, largely in response to reality of COVID, the resulting lockdowns, and the concurrent rise of remote work. This may have forced changes in your direction, or may do so as you move forward.