Improving Lateral Communication

    Communication centers on the exchange and sharing of information between people. With so many focusing on optimizing the communication within teams and/or from a leader-follower standpoint, there’s a type of communication that tends to be missed in the process; lateral communication. This refers to the communication that happens within departments or organization units; usually at the same hierarchical level as each other. Since this communication too is dedicated to the purpose of coordinating activities, efforts or fulfilling a common purpose or goal. This is lateral communication. Make a plan to set feedback and dialogue. Time is of the essence in a project, so you may need to optimize the time spent planning and communicating between different departments. One way to have this done would be to schedule regular check-ins or meetings where problems, plans and progress can be discussed. In a work context that runs hybrid (WFH and on-site), a good communicati...