In most organizations, strategy flows in one direction: down. The executive team debates, decides, and hands the final message to communications, who then pushes it out to the organization. Frontline teams, those who deal directly with customers, process paperwork, and understand the day-to-day friction, are treated as the endpoints of communication, never the source.
This creates an immediate and predictable problem: the execution gap. The new strategy, while brilliant on the whiteboard, often lands with language, priorities, or instructions that simply do not work in the real world. The people who are expected to deliver the strategy are the first to spot its flaws, but they are the last to be consulted.
The role of the frontline isn't just to implement the message; it's to vet the clarity before the message is finalized. They are the ultimate focus group. They know which jargon will confuse a customer, which timeline will break a team, and which explanation will generate a hundred follow-up questions. Ignoring this voice means launching a message that is guaranteed to create unnecessary friction and costly workarounds.
Giving the frontline a voice is not about delegation or asking for permission. It's a strategic requirement for clarity. You don't ask them to write the plan, but you do ask them to test the message. Before a new initiative goes live, run the core language and the key talking points by the people who will actually have to live with it. Ask them, "How will our employees interpret this?" and "What is the single thing that will make this impossible for you to execute?"
The goal is to harden the message by exposing it to reality early. By engaging the people closest to the actual work, you build a message that is not only understood but is immediately usable and resilient.
The most reliable message is one that has already survived contact with the front line.
