Comunicación horizontal: decálogo para puestos directivos

"The party of the first part shall be known in this contract as the party of the first part". Have you ever felt as bewildered at work as the characters in A night at the Opera by the Marx Brothers? Lateral communication is essential for a company to be efficient and ensure there are no misunderstandings like: "Finance didn't warn us that there wasn't enough in the budget”, “Wasn't that what Marketing proposed? “or “I thought that's what they took care of in Sales!”.

According to Peter Drucker - considered the father of management - some 60% of company problems arise as a result of poor communication. Conversely, when professionals participate in a company's internal communications, productivity increases almost five-fold, according to McKinsey.

Knowing how to interact appropriately with the other staff at your company lays the foundations for a proper workflow, especially in managerial positions, where strategic action plans are conceived before being cascaded down to the teams. So, do you know what lateral communication is and, above all, how to apply it for the best results?

What is lateral communication? 

Lateral communication occurs between professionals at the same level of hierarchy within the company. In other words, it can happen at all levels, as long as there is no seniority between them (such cases are termed vertical communication instead). 

For example, an email between two colleagues in the Sales department would constitute lateral communication, in the same way as a call between the CIO and the CCO would. However, if the Production Manager talks to an employee in their department, this would be vertical communication. 

Put in a more descriptive manner, while vertical communication flows top down, lateral communication is horizontal in its flow - hence the name, although the implications go beyond the mere hierarchical position of the participants. 

How does it differ from vertical communication? 

The primary difference between lateral and vertical communication is the relationship between the parties: on an equal level, in the case of the former, and based on organisational superiority, in the case of the latter. 

However, that's not the only feature separating these types of business communication. Their goal and style also differs. As such, with vertical communication, the main goal is for the highest-ranking professional to provide information to the employee regarding how to meet objectives: from providing the necessary data for the work to progress, to requesting reports on the evolution of a project and issuing guidelines to carry out certain tasks. Therefore, this requires a clear one-way communications style, whether ascending or descending. 

However, with lateral communication, the objective is to enhance coordination and problem-solving, in addition to offering the opportunity to forge interpersonal relationships within the company. Here, two-way communication is key for this type of dialogue, which in turn reinforces the participation of all staff, broadening perspectives, encouraging creativity, optimising decision-making, reducing bureaucracy and the risk of errors, increasing companionship and generating a climate of trust within the organisation that boosts motivation and job satisfaction.

As a result, lateral communication is increasingly used within companies. This is because companies need to be agile and adapt quickly to change, which they cannot achieve with excessive bureaucracy or rigid communication. It requires "high-frequency two-way communications to gather sufficient feedback and pivot principles and objectives as needed", according to an article by McKinsey. 

When does this type of communication take place? 

The enhanced flow fostered by lateral communication has resulted in its scope of application being expanded. At first, this form of communication was limited to situations that called for collaboration between several professionals to achieve the set objectives or manage personal relationships between staff. This would be the case, for example, with a new product launch, where Sales and Marketing executives need to work side by side, or with the induction of a new staff member who other employees will have to help and guide during their first few days. 

However, nowadays, lateral communication is gaining ground. As with the internet, and more precisely social media, where the consumer isn't a mere listener but also participates, interacts and even generates content, business communications have also done a 180o flip towards a more interactive, recurrent and circular style. This is especially true in companies that adopt a flat structure and develop leadership styles in which empowerment is one of pillars of management, such as in transformational, participatory or delegative leadership. 

In these cases, managers maximise the flow of information between all employees, regardless of their positions, and to do so, offer as many communications channels as possible: from traditional emails, calls and meetings, to new channels, such as regular interviews, apps, team management courses and teambuilding activities. 

How to practise lateral communication in managerial positions 

Lateral communication is not without its drawbacks. As with anything, when poorly applied, it can overwhelm staff, creating an excess of information that proves difficult to deal with, and causing confusion or misunderstandings due to communications barriers. Moreover, according to the latest statistics, poor communication in a company of 100 employees costs an average of $420,000 a year.

So, in order to communicate efficiently with the other staff at your company, it's important to follow a set of guidelines, especially if you have a management role, where your input lays the foundation for your team to achieve the goals set out. Accordingly, what aspects of lateral communication do you need to be aware of? 

1. Contextualization. This is about laying out the general lines of communication, explaining why contact is required and what issues are being raised. For example, while you might forward an email to another colleague without further explanation, it would be much faster and more agile to tell them the reason for it. Remember that you already know the context, but the other person may not, and without clarification, they will have to spend more time finding out what is required of them. And don't forget to be meaningful in the messages you convey: you can't use the same tone in a meeting where you want to congratulate the team for their effort as you would in a meeting where you have to caution about mistakes being made. 
2. Clarity. The clearer you are, the more effective the lateral communication will be. Give a brief outline of background information, before indicating the next steps. To do this, the 6W journalistic technique can help you: what, who, when, where, how and why. 
3. Get down to business. Did you know that, according to a study by the Wharton Center for Applied Research, the average employee wastes 31 hours a month on ineffective meetings? This misuse of time can be extrapolated to other communication channels, so don't beat around the bush. At the end of the day, staff want to know what the instructions are as quickly as possible, without wasting time. 
4. Assertiveness and empathy. As the saying goes, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care". Putting yourself in the shoes of the listener and trying to understand their concerns or objections is another feature of effective communications. Throughout the entire communicative process, empathy is key. Additionally, you also need to be assertive in conveying the information, i.e., base it on data and facts without making things personal, and always show respect, using a neutral approach and calm demeanour. 
5. Active listening. Many people assume that communication is limited to speaking, when the reality is that the best communicators are those who are also able to listen to others. Accordingly, to develop good lateral communication skills, you will need to foster dialogue and pay attention to what the other person has to say. 
6. Quest for common goals. The essence of lateral communication is an improvement in collaboration between staff. Hence meetings should focus on identifying solutions for problems: it's not about who's right or who has the best idea, but about finding the optimal solution together. 
7. Feedback. High-performance teams need to interact regularly to exchange pertinent information, even if it's only to confirm that a message has been received. When a nurse says "scalpel” as they pass the instrument to the surgeon, or a sailor shouts "Aye aye Captain" to the person barking out commands, they are aiming to maintain the flow of communication. Ensure that there is interaction at all times and that messages are both clear and understood. 
8. Non-verbal communication. Tone, cadence, words, gestures, etc., even the tiniest details affect what you convey, so never underestimate the power of non-verbal communication. The same applies when you are the listener: what is being said is as important as what is not. For example, a worker showing interest in a particular point can be just as significant as them remaining silent: the lack of input may be due to the fact they don't understand a word you're telling them.
9. Setting limits. Lateral communication flows should never exceed certain limits. As well as using clear and concrete communications, it is also important to respect certain protocols related to the language or style being used - don't forget you’re in a professional environment - as well as the time frame for communications, unless you want the team to end up suffering burnout. 
10. Use tools. Lastly, it's vital to use tools that foster communication within the organisation. Besides traditional emails, new apps tailored to the workplace support continual interaction, e.g., Slack - a sort of professional WhatsApp; Trello - a handy project management tool; and Teams - a platform with a range of communication solutions. 

Want to learn to communicate in your role like a true leader? Banco Santander is launching 5,000 Santander Course | Business for All 2024. This program, aimed at those who want to enhance their business skills, has been designed in collaboration with top experts from Harvard Business School Publishing, one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the world.

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