Common Communication Breakdowns: Anthony Chin Of Netwrix On The Most Common Communication Breakdowns In Corporations And How To Avoid Them

An Interview With Cynthia Corsetti

Lack of a true open-door policy — It’s easy to say you have an open-door policy. However, if you don’t make a concerted effort to encourage your employees to use it and make time for them, it is simply an empty gesture.

In the dynamic world of business, where rapid decision-making, seamless collaboration, and innovative strategies are critical, effective communication is essential. Yet, we find that even in the most successful corporations, communication breakdowns can become a regular occurrence, leading to misaligned goals, misinterpreted strategies, and missed opportunities. In this series, we are talking to CEOs, COOs, CTOs, and other C-Suite leaders, to discuss what leads to communication breakdowns, and more importantly, how they can be avoided. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Anthony Chin.

As Chief Operating Officer at cybersecurity company Netwrix, Anthony brings 15+ years of operational experience in the software industry, spanning business operations, sales strategy, execution and corporate go-to-market strategies across omni-channel routes to market. He focuses on delivering sales effectiveness and smooth operational execution. Anthony holds a bachelor’s degree in finance.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about communication, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

Interestingly, the operations path was not the route I had planned for early on — I initially went to college as a pre-med major! I quickly realized that this wasn’t my passion and moved into finance. I was intrigued by the use of funds, balancing how funds are deployed, and measuring ROI and time to value. During college, I mostly worked full-time, taking late afternoon and evening classes towards my degree.

During the mid-1990s, I was fortunate enough to be given an opportunity as a Junior Financial Analyst for a white-label server & PC manufacturer. The chance to gain real-world experience in the field I was studying was tremendous. My curiosity and eagerness to learn were fueled and fanned by the CEO, who provided opportunities for expanding my business acumen. Roles in everything from sales to credit & collections and procurement to production management and operations management enabled me to pursue a broad range of interests and hone my career aspirations.

Through my career at GE, VizionCore, Quest Software, Dell, Adobe and now Netwrix, my passion developed towards problem solving and operational execution. Breaking down barriers and facilitating collaboration and execution is what energizes me and gets me up in the morning.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

I know it sounds cliché, but it’s our team and the contributions from each member. Every day, over 850 individuals across 35 countries ensure the security of our customers’ data and the success of the company. We use the breadth of our diverse cultural backgrounds to our advantage in today’s global economy. But what’s more important, we respect cultural nuances. For instance, we pay attention to time zone differences when scheduling calls or setting deadlines. Those located in the US regularly opt to start their working hours earlier so they can spend more time collaborating with their European peers. We are together and we care about each other, and that is our key strength.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success?

1. Analytical — Looking at a problem statement from a data first perspective sets an unbiased baseline to work from, but it is only one dimension; adding the points of view of the customer and internal teams creates the full three-dimensional vantage point.
2. Team building — Building a successful team does not happen overnight. And surely building a high-caliber, confident team takes development. As a leader, your job is to mentor and foster individuals along their career path, which requires building out skill sets, motivation and encouragement, and challenging them to reach beyond their goals.
3. Curiosity — Always strive to learn something new. Always be learning, whether it be from your past decisions or the actions of others around you, or building new skill sets and broadening old ones. With each new tidbit learned, you continue raising the bar for the organization, your team and yourself.

Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story with us about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader? I’m curious to understand how these challenges have shaped your leadership.

Leadership is much easier when the decisions are obvious and team sentiment is aligned. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. What I’ve learned over my career is to listen with intent, analyze the various points of view, continuously assess the results, and pivot or adjust along the way.

Once I had to make a decision about investing toward one area of focus vs. another. Both choices modeled a positive ROI and positioned the organization for greater scale; however, both required a shift in resources to fund the investment. After gathering input across different teams and various points of view, I made the decision to invest in the area that yielded the least amount of friction, since at the time, the business was undergoing significant change. Although we could have seen a higher ROI with the alternative option, the risk of creating more disruption was too great.

Most decisions can be executed successfully only if the leader is able to bring the organization along the journey. The most important thing beyond that is to always have a plan. Visualize various scenarios and outcomes and develop action plans to put into motion in the event they occur. Hope for the best but plan for the worst.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Let’s begin with a basic question. Why is communication within an organization so essential? Can you recall a specific situation where effective communication within your organization led to a significant breakthrough or success?

Life in general is filled with multiple variables that are constantly changing. From the infamous “What’s for dinner?” to “Who’s picking up the kids?”, moving forward requires coordination and communication. Running a business is no different: To ensure we are executing to the established vision and strategy, all functions and team members need to be aligned. You cannot achieve this without the proper communication channels and cadence.

Netwrix has been and continues to be in a rapid growth stage, driven by both organic and inorganic contributions. As a result, the organization is constantly evolving, with newly acquired businesses leading to expansion in new markets. We’ve welcomed a great number of new and acquired team members, along with new customers in new regions and segments. Our portfolio has grown from two to sixteen products in just two years as we continue creating a comprehensive data security solution set.

Communication is the currency of leadership that enables our team to make well-informed decisions. Regular, detailed communications are crucial to ensure that everyone is aware of our current capabilities and knows where we are going. In turn, this transparency enables deep understanding, so team members can suggest ways to achieve the goals faster or more efficiently. In other words, multi-directional communication increases overall effectiveness of the organization.

At Netwrix, we mastered these communication skills when going through a series of acquisitions. We divided all the recipients into groups according to their role (customers, prospects, partners, employees, etc.), crafted tailored messages and FAQs for each group, and distributed all the communications simultaneously. This approach resulted in minimal follow-up questions since most concerns had already been addressed. This is another example of how communication increases effectiveness: Because internal teams didn’t need to handle lots of questions and requests, they were able to keep operating as usual.

Is there such a thing as overcommunication? Have you ever faced any challenges or backlash due to overcommunication, and how did you address it?

It depends on how you define overcommunication. Frequent communication can be a positive reinforcement method for instituting awareness and establishing a desired mindset. However, overcommunication on content without clarity or context can lead to misinterpretation and confusion.

Here’s an example. As I mentioned, one of Netwrix’s growth drivers is M&A, and every acquisition requires extensive integration work by each of the functional teams. Initially, we required each team to submit a weekly assessment and progress update. However, we found that the frequency and detail of these updates actually dulled their effectiveness. Accordingly, we shifted to a more concise summary of key changes and decisions, which prompted valuable discussion.

How do you strike the balance between over-communication and under-communication within the organization? What guiding principles do you follow?

A determining factor is “Who needs to be informed and what are the takeaways (such as awareness versus call to action)?” Based on the answer, we determine how widely we communicate, as well as the timing, context and content of the communication.

In most cases, I would err on the side of over-communication — but in the form of context. All too often, leaders simply publish decisions or strategy with little to no context. Providing the rationale behind a decision and the outcome you hope to achieve leads to better awareness and more effective execution or implementation.

The rise of hybrid work has brought new communication dynamics. How have you found this shift affecting communication within your organization, and what innovative methods have you implemented to adapt?

When the pandemic hit and many companies shifted to a remote workforce, Netwrix was forced to adapt like everyone else. We overcame the challenges, from onboarding to enabling collaboration to building corporate culture, and we have maintained this model even as other organizations chose to call everyone back into the office.

Today, Netwrix is part of the new breed of remote-only businesses. While this model is not without its challenges, we continue to find ways to adapt. Some of the more effective methods for maintaining a positive culture include:

• Video calls — Nearly all our calls, from 1-on-1s to our quarterly all-hands meetings, are video calls. This model keeps everyone engaged and facilitates the chit-chat or water-cooler talk found at conventional offices. Frankly, it is not very different from sitting in a conference room in-person.
• Microsoft Teams — We use this technology extensively for internal communications. In a world dominated by texting and online chat, it enables our teams to remain connected and build team dynamics.
• Video conferencing — Individual teams leverage video conferencing for team events and get-togethers.

One challenge we have to contend with is overload: It’s all too easy to stay in front of your computer screen for elongated periods of time. To address this, we provide frequent reminders encouraging everyone to step away and take a break to maintain a proper work/life balance, which both facilitates their health and benefits the company in the long term.

In an era of specialized roles and departments, how do you ensure that different parts of the organization are not working in silos, and what mechanisms encourage cross-functional dialogue? Similarly, how do you maintain a sense of unity and shared purpose among teams in a hybrid work environment?

I think this depends heavily on the leader and their willingness to delegate. It’s not a case of my team asking me to go ask someone. Rather, we encourage our information workers to send emails or schedule calls with their colleagues at any level to discuss issues or get the answers they need. Our model is the opposite of siloed departments.

Communication and cross-functional engagement are critical. Beyond the standard quarterly business reviews, we hold executive leadership team (ELT) meetings twice a week to share what’s going on across our teams. On other business topics, we use a RACI model to ensure clarity about who should be engaged and informed.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “Five Most Common Communication Breakdowns In Corporations And How To Avoid Them”?

1. Lack of standard communication channels — Today, we have so many communication options, from email to voice and video calls to Teams and text messaging, that it can be overwhelming. I may be dating myself, but I remember a time before Slack and email, and even before cellphones or pagers. When you went on vacation, you were literally disconnected unless you found a payphone. I am deeply convinced there is always a way to streamline the number and forms of communication. Establish standard external and internal platforms and define a methodology for distinguishing communications for awareness from urgent calls to action, much like the difference between 411 and 911 calls.
2. Lack of clarity and conciseness — When formulating communications, always identify the 5Ws: Who, What, When, Where and Why. Use this analysis to achieve accurate, complete and effective messages.
3. Lack of follow-up — Whenever you communicate, whether it be a video call or meeting, establish the takeaways and next steps with the participants. Then have each action owner set up a follow-up call or meeting to ensure accountability.
4. Lack of a true open-door policy — It’s easy to say you have an open-door policy. However, if you don’t make a concerted effort to encourage your employees to use it and make time for them, it is simply an empty gesture.
5. Lack of insight into roles and responsibilities — Organizations of any significant size often struggle to know who does what. Often, individuals have the best of intent to reach out and collaborate, but simply do not know who to engage. Establish a system for identifying and publicizing functions and roles that works for your organization. Developing and deploying a RACI matrix can help increase productivity and awareness.

What role do you see for yourself as a leader in fostering a climate where employees at all levels feel comfortable voicing their opinions and concerns? Can you share an example where this openness led to a positive change?

Fortunately, Netwrix already has a corporate culture and environment that encourages open dialogue and welcomes new ideas and opinions. That makes my role in this area easy; I use the strategies discussed earlier to maintain and grow this culture.

Navigating the complex terrain of corporate communication must certainly present unique challenges. As a C-suite leader, what thoughts or concerns, related to this or otherwise, often keep you awake at night? How do these influence your approach to leadership?

Communication is critical, but it can be challenging to execute. You constantly have to be mindful of potential misinterpretations. Everything from tone to lack of clarity about intent (is this informative or a call to action?) can prevent alignment between your mind and the people who need to carry out the vision or decision.

Follow-up is also essential. Don’t rely on a single communication; follow up with your leaders — and ensure they are doing the same down the chain — to ensure comprehension and alignment of your priorities.

It’s also important to enable everyone to have a broad understanding of the implications of their actions. For instance, a decision made in one department can lead to challenges or issues in another.

Can you share a piece of feedback or advice you received that significantly altered your leadership approach or philosophy?

A piece of advice I was given early in my career that I still use today as a leader is, “Come to the table with a solution or options to address the problem.” We are all problem solvers; we do it on a daily basis without realizing it. But we do have a tendency to default to leaving the job of developing solutions to management. Whether you’re a manager or an individual contributor, assess the situation, come up with three options to address the issue, and lay out your recommendation for each of those three options.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Challenge yourself and don’t be complacent. Expand your horizons and learn something new every day, whether it is related to work, a personal interest, or something you’ve wondered about but never put forth the effort to explore. You would be surprised how much this practice opens your mind to different perspectives and understanding.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Check out the Netwrix LinkedIn page. This is the best way to track how we keep making the lives of security professionals easier.

Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!

About the Interviewer: Cynthia Corsetti is an esteemed executive coach with over two decades in corporate leadership and 11 years in executive coaching. Author of the upcoming book, “Dark Drivers,” she guides high-performing professionals and Fortune 500 firms to recognize and manage underlying influences affecting their leadership. Beyond individual coaching, Cynthia offers a 6-month executive transition program and partners with organizations to nurture the next wave of leadership excellence.