Communicating The Mission

Even if you can't build a relationship with each of your employees in person, here are three ways to communicate your company's mission, as described in this Business Week article, showcasing the president of Travelocity, Michelle Peluso.

Stay remarkably connected with your team members by:

1. Be Visionary. A mission must be both emotional and tangible. Employees need to be excited about the roles they play in making that mission a reality. The CEO's job is to make sure all employees understand how their work advances the mission. It's up to the leader to craft a compelling mission and to communicate the importance of everyone's role in fulfilling that mission.
2. Be Genuine and Passionate. Be compassionate, yet aggressive and open. Communicate the facts as you know them and to craft a positive, energizing, and inspiring vision of the future
3. Be Present. Great leaders are "present," or available. Answer or acknowledge emails directly. If you can get back to an employee immediately, employees, in turn, should be able to quickly respond to customers, colleagues, and vendors. By being responsive and showing appreciation, everyone wins—staff, customers, and investors.

BOTTOMLINE: CEOs are the the leaders. Act as the role model. Be available, present, and connected, and communicate the mission as often as you can.