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Leadership Communication

Kent Thiery, CEO of DaVita, the nation’s number two dialysis-treatment
operator, has been hearing nothing but positive news from employees
about the recent merger with Gambro Healthcare. That feels good, con-
sidering the mess DaVita was in when Thiery took over. The El Segundo,
California company was in default on its bank loans and barely able to
make payroll. Turnover was 45 percent a year.
Then Thiery reminds himself what pulled DaVita out of the quagmire—
it wasn’t his brilliant strategies and plans but rather a vigorous seeking and
acting on honest feedback from front-line workers. So, when employees at an
annual staff gathering agree with him that integrating DaVita and Gambro is
“fun,” Thiery challenges them: “Either you’re all on drugs or better than me
because integrations are a god-awful nightmare.” He then reminds workers
that he depends on their frank feedback to “keep from messing up.”
Thiery is striving to build open communication into the DNA of DaVita.
Managers get plenty of data via monthly reports, but Thiery knows written
reports don’t tell them what’s really going on in the company. Every manager
spends a week working in a dialysis center to see fi rsthand the challenges
and stresses technicians and nurses face. Thiery holds about 20 town-hall
style meetings a year and asks other top managers to convene a truth-telling
session any time they are with at least seven employees (now called team-
mates). He wants people to think of the company as “a village with shared
responsibility,” and he routinely revises procedures or practices that employ-
ees say aren’t working or could be improved.
Companies like DaVita in the healthcare industry face many challenges,
from stiff competition to tough government regulations. Thanks to Thiery’s
encouragement of open and honest communication, DaVita has cut employee
turnover to around 20 percent, increased revenues to more than $5 billion,
and achieved the dialysis industry’s best clinical outcomes. 1
In the previous chapter, we discussed motivation and reviewed some of
the ways in which leaders motivate followers toward the accomplishment
of the organization’s goals. As this story illustrates, motivation depends
greatly on a leader’s ability to communicate effectively, which includes the
critical role of listening to followers. People look to leaders for direction and
inspiration, but they also want to have their ideas and opinions heard.
Leadership cannot happen without effective communication. Recall that

leadership means influencing people to bring about change toward a vision,
or desirable future for the organization. Leaders communicate to share the
vision with others, inspire and motivate them to strive toward the vision, and
build the values and trust that enable effective working relationships and goal
accomplishment.
Successful leader communication also includes deceptively simple com-
ponents, such as asking questions, paying attention to nonverbal communica-
tion, and actively listening to others. Today’s fast-paced environment does not
always provide time for the listening and reflection that good communication

requires. Surveys of managers typically reveal that they consider communica-
2
tion their most important skill and one of their top responsibilities. However,
one study found that fewer than half bother to tailor their messages to em-
ployees, customers, or suppliers, and even fewer seek feedback from those con-
stituencies. Furthermore, in many cases investors appear to have a better idea
3
of the vision and mission of companies than do employees. Research shows
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