Cristina Salvador defines herself as an Empathy Catalyst and I cannot agree more. Founder of the communications agency Both People&Comms and CultHunting, a transformation hub, Cristina’s projects blend art, empathy, culture and disruption to deliver unique solutions to big organisational challenges.
We met one year ago at Womanthon, where we are both mentors. Watching Cristina delivering a communication session is, definitely, a wonderful experience. Today, celebrating her birthday, we talk about her passion.
1. What’s today’s role of communication in a company?
Communication plays -and should play it even more- a role of facilitator, motivator and inspirator. Conversations and messages create realities. Words and connections are the foundation of how businesses work. Information (meaning giving insights or instructions) is mixed up with communication (meaning recognition, empowerment, active listening, coaching, influence and inspiration). A great leader today is someone who is able to inspire so people are able to know their role, achieve commitment and share the company’s purpose. Communication is like human blood flow, connecting the whole body. When communication doesn’t flow, the organisation is not in good health.
2. In an era of infoxication, fake news and post truth, how can we distinguish “real information”?
In communication we always say that perception determines reality. There’s not only one reality, each individual has his/her own bias. But there are unmistakable facts and the principle of veracity. Truth is subjective, but veracity has to be the starting point. On the other hand, fake news or post truth are based on fake facts, lies or deliberate gossip which do not seek veracity, but manipulation or negative influence in reputation. We have to preserve veracity principle and avoid manipulated facts for the benefit of people’s honour and also the benefit of democracy. Donald Trump’s “alternative facts” are a big threat in the 21st century.
3. Communication and purpose … How can we link both concepts?
In a manner of speaking, communication has an emotional component which goes beyond information. Information means to know what to do, meanwhile communication means to have the will to do it and understanding why you do it. That’s the purpose: a shared leitmotiv, a common goal. An organisation without a purpose is an organisation without a soul, where the main driver is profit, success and growth. Human self-fulfilment that everyone pursues is an intangible feeling that cannot be tied to a figure. The winning organisations in the 21st century will be the ones who prioritise purpose over profit. Purpose attracts talent (co-workers and partners), clients and users, prescribers, and, therefore, profit. The pursuit of profit above all leads to autarchy and isolation. And now we are in the era of alliances.
4. What role does empathy play within the communication process?
Communication is a bi- or multidirectional process based on interaction. There is no dialogue without empathy. It is true, though, that we need to nurture empathy, since we are often in pretend dialogues which are in fact a thread of monologues. Stress, individualism and the bubble of social media lead to isolation. We only see “our truth” and we cannot see a different version. That’s the selfie society. Empathy allows us to understand, influence, cooperate, negotiate and create action. Without empathy we cannot be change enablers, leaders, colleagues, friends or real referents. We need to nurture our ability to understand and connect with others.
5. How crucial is communication in a transformation process?
There is a key difference between change and transformation. When talking about change, we switch from an A scenario (“as is”) to a B scenario (“to be”) which is perfectly designed and that we can anticipate. However, in transformation processes, we switch to uncertainty, which is impossible to foresee. There’s nothing more challenging for the human brain than going further into the unknown. Reptilian brains, our survival instinct, activates all the alarms to prevent this from happening. We have to understand human psyche to properly coach a transformation process. Communication helps us to listen to fears and blocks, to reveal hopes and resources (which are change triggers) and, based on that, we can create a storytelling to reduce anxiety and boost motivation, walking together with people throughout the process, respecting their different paces, envisioning progress and maintaining a dialogue about ways to improve.
6. How can culture boost communication and vice versa?
Culture and communication are the two sides of the same story. Communication expresses corporate culture. It is simultaneously its mirror and amplifier. The purpose and shared values of an organisation are instilled in its language (both verbal and non-verbal), the words we use and the human connection of its people. Communication is not only the CEO’s speech, an Intranet campaign, a CSR program or an event. Communication happens with daily interaction amongst people and it builds culture.
Many thanks for inspiring us, Cristina, and have a Happy Birthday!
