The Leadership Solution

19.3. Counseling and Business Partnering

When Ed Robertson, employee communication manager at FedEx, talks about managing communication inside that farflung corporation of 140,000 people, he talks from an internal consultant's perspective. "I'm convinced that today's emerging workplace issues demand that we [as a profession] get involved in helping others communicate more effectively by facilitating the process of communication inside the organization," he says.

Therefore, Robertson spends much of his time:

• Helping line managers throughout FedEx understand their role in the communication and information-sharing process.

• Assessing and diagnosing, teaching and developing managers' communication competencies.

• Removing barriers that prevent or hinder ...