Communication is easy when the risks are low but when the stakes are high, effective communication may be difficult and challenging.
What is high stakes communication?
We believe high stakes communication takes several forms. In a government context, it could involve communicating the benefits of a new policy that is viewed negatively by the public. It can also include the communication of a government position to the media in a crisis or high-profile situation, or it could mean having exchanges with stakeholders who are not pleased with a change in policies or procedures related to project funding. Whenever there is an issue that is difficult or the focus of attention, communication can involve high stakes both for organizations and for the individuals who work in them.
In many government departments and agencies, the workforce is experiencing rapid change, becoming even more diverse, experiencing a growing rate of retirements, and witnessing the quick movement of individuals into management positions.
In the context of strengthening and enabling leadership and of investing in the career development of employees, Y2CP believes that departments and agencies may wish to focus on talent management:
- expanding and strengthening the competencies of their employees; and
- facilitating the development and empowerment of the leaders of today and tomorrow.
We believe that the focus of high stakes communications training and development should be based on the following objective:
- to allow employees to further develop and diversify their skills and knowledge through a well structured, competency-based development process — whether it is to assist them to reach more senior level positions or to become even more skilled at their substantive levels.
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