When you make a leadership decision in your organization to embrace open communication, it is imperative that you know what that looks like and sounds like in a corporate setting. It may mean that during a management team meeting you encourage your leaders to openly acknowledge how they work through professional issues that are emotionally difficult. It may mean modeling how to be receptive to the input of others. An open communication style advocates a balance between setting a clear business direction and being sensitive to individuals' needs. Most importantly, it requires leaders to be self-aware and emotionally able to regulate responses—in a rational, mature way—when it comes to listening to and encouraging employees.

In most organizations, conflict and differences of opinion become a regular, but disagreeable part of interacting, working on projects and, in general, doing business together. By contrast, open communication guides people to speak up and speak honestly, and then go the distance once the words have been spoken. 'Going the distance' means thinking through what you think or feel about an issue before bringing it up, and being ready to stay present with the person once you initiate contact. Regardless of how aggressively—or meekly—the other person responds, going the distance means you are committed to working things through to a reasonable conclusion for all involved. When this level of open communication is supported among staff members, it can be successfully extended to those you serve outside of your company.

Clients/customers/audiences who receive this level of service become not simply loyal fans, but what author and business leader, Ken Blanchard refers to as 'raving fans.' Clients can have confidence that their interactions with anyone in your company will be straightforward and honest, even to the point of staff members admitting their ignorance or being vulnerable. We can all sometimes be mistaken, unsure, or afraid. If we are open about it, we engender a feeling of trust, and this quality of interaction is reciprocated. Everyone wins in this type of environment and along the way people grow.

Open communication takes time to build, and takes an on-going commitment from all to sustain. With open communication, you learn how to ask questions devoid of judgment or blame. You learn how to listen to one another without defensiveness. Open communication teaches you to hear how others view you and see how it matches your own assessment of yourself, thereby bringing more breadth to your character. Open communication demonstrates how to accurately convey feedback to colleagues, which broadens perspective and encourages creativity. The benefits of open communication are so plentiful, it is well worth the time and effort it takes to put it into practice.