Personal SWOT Analysis and Team Communication Strategies

Introduction

This paper critically reflects on the personal development and growth of the author over 15 years of service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It examines both the extent and depth of the skills acquired during that service and undertakes a SWOT analysis — identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats — with the ultimate aim of providing a vehicle for broadening skills and identifying the means to become a more effective manager.

Appropriate and recognized mechanisms are used to assess the author's preferred learning styles, with a view to identifying the most effective means of maximizing personal development potential. The second part of this work applies current knowledge and learning to analyze, evaluate, and discuss how an effective team can be developed using successful internal and external communication processes.

Communication is described as "a process for giving and exchanging information with others" (Roehler, 2007). Effective communication is stated to occur "when the receiver clearly understands the intended message that was sent" (Roehler, 2007). Communication occurs whether it was planned or unplanned (Roehler, 2007).

Personal SWOT Analysis

The author's strengths include the following training events and career accomplishments:

Personal strengths identified include being decisive, technically competent, and creative. The author also brings a diverse career history, is pragmatic in approach, and has a strong sense of humor.

The weaknesses identified in this SWOT analysis include: (1) limited specialization; (2) limited experience outside the armed forces; and (3) impulsiveness.

Opportunities available to the author include: (1) leaving the RAF in three years; (2) earning an MBA; and (3) pursuing self-employment in a new career.

Threats identified include: (1) the challenge of leaving secure employment; and (2) the prevailing financial crisis at the time of writing.

Internal Communication Processes

Internal communication is reported by Raza (2009) to involve "the communication that exists within an organization and can take many forms." It is known by varied titles in different organizations — including employee communications and engagement communications — but the primary theme is that internal communications is "simply communications (in whatever format) amongst, and between a firm's employees" (Raza, 2009).

Both formal and informal internal communications exist within organizations. Formal communication includes "planned communication, memo, letter, report, e-mail and faxes that follow the company's chain of command," while informal communication includes "casual communication among employees, e-mail, face-to-face conversations, phone calls, and discussions" (Raza, 2009).

Reported barriers to communication include: (1) semantic barriers (convention of meaning); (2) physical barriers; (3) psychological barriers, encompassing emotional and perceptual barriers; and (4) barriers involving values and attitudes (Raza, 2009). Raza (2009) also identifies disturbances that interrupt the process of organizational communication, including situations where individuals lack sufficient education to fully understand information, weak communication channels that result in incomplete or late information, unclear or illegible messages, inappropriate language choices, and unsuitable presentation modes.

Raza (2009) importantly notes that communication represents the voice of the corporation, as well as the corporation's "integrity and the images it projects of itself on a global and regional stage populated by its various audiences and stakeholders."

It is worth noting that internal communication planning is one of the most neglected areas of strategic planning. Many companies invest considerable resources, money, and effort in their external communication strategy while simultaneously failing to develop an organized plan for internal communication (Roehler, 2007).

Roehler (2007) reports that the objective of an internal communication strategy is "to foster a strong communication culture within the business by creating a two-way flow of information that moves information from the top to the bottom and then moves feedback back up to the top." The goal is to "filter the message(s) coming from upper management down to all employees to provide them with a better understanding of the purpose, goals and directions of the business" (Roehler, 2007).

The stated benefits of adopting an internal communication strategy include: (1) creating a workplace in which all employees are "informed and working toward the same goals through clear direction for everyday activity"; (2) gaining competitive advantage; (3) creating a common vision and reducing workplace conflict by reducing ambiguity; (4) improving employee understanding and responsiveness to individual needs; (5) encouraging a sense of belonging through information and awareness of business operations; (6) enabling all employees to articulate the mission, values, and goals of the business; (7) empowering employees to make better-informed daily decisions that are aligned with the company's long-term goals; (8) promoting a clear, shared understanding of change processes, gaining commitment to change, and counteracting unnecessary employee anxiety; (9) ensuring efficient use of resources through prioritizing conflicting demands; (10) enabling review of business activity and providing channels to measure success; and (11) motivating better performance by linking individual and team efforts to a "system-thinking 'big picture' approach that effectively breaks down personal or departmental fiefdoms" (Roehler, 2007).

Roehler (2007) additionally states that a sound internal communication strategy should "enable a two-way flow of information between employees and management" and should be "integrated with the overall business strategy." The internal communication plan should also focus on the long-term, communicate values and goals clearly, and be comprehensive in nature. Appropriate communication methods should be used for internal communication, and messages should be consistent and never condescending.

Finally, a sound internal communication strategy should "involve the management team's commitment to reinforcing perceptions delivered via the communication strategy — management needs to 'walk the talk'" (Roehler, 2007). Issues to consider include the existing communication process, who currently creates and disseminates information, and who will be responsible for managing the accountability of the communication strategy going forward (Roehler, 2007).