(Winter 2010)

In an era of social media and search engines, maintaining a company's good reputation requires more than spin. It requires a culture of candor and authenticity, a rock-solid character and dependability that permeate the organization. That is the stuff of employee engagement. In order to engage employees (or members, volunteers, and supporters in nonprofit contexts), it is necessary to recognize and manage both explicit and implicit organizational communication. All this relies on sensitivity to the interests of external and internal stakeholders alike and on an appreciation for how communication actually works. The successful practitioner must effectively build and present to executive leadership the business case for managing integrated strategic communication. This elective course will provide you with a conceptual framework and strategic perspective that enable you to offer sophisticated counsel at a high level. It will equip you with practical mechanics to develop a compelling, real-world, internal communication plan and to deliver explicit messages, frame perceptions, and integrate explicit and implicit media for optimal employee engagement in an organization. See enrollment confirmation for login information.

Thomas J. Lee, MA, is an authority on organizational and leadership communication. He has consulted to clients such as Harley-Davidson, FMC, Pfizer, John Deere, Northwestern Mutual, Shell Oil / Royal Dutch Shell Group and Lockhead Martin. He has spoke throughtout the United States, across Canada, and in South America, Europe, and Africa. He was educated at the University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin at Madison. His first book, Mind the Gaps: Robust Credibility and the Three Voices of Leadership, is nearing completion. He blogs at http://rainbows.typepad.com.