Like so many things, fostering a culture of communication has to start at the top. If leaders really want to have a two-way dialogue, they need to have an open-door policy, make time to listen, be open to new ideas, and not only act on good ideas, but acknowledge where those ideas came from.

This encourages conversation in all directions.

Of course, the same needs to happen when communicating downwards, and it’s vital that downward communication is clear, consistent, honest and transparent.

Modelling the culture you want to create will help your teams adjust behaviour and build the culture you want, which in turn will attract like-minded employees in the future, too.