The communication style plays a major role in every person’s life, especially their professional activity since it corresponds to the way individuals convey and exchange information with others. In the corporate environment, the communication style of people depends on the position they hold in their company. Essentially, CEOs tend to choose means of expressing their ideas which are in some instances different from those espoused by lower-ranking employees (Ngai & Singh, 2017). Netflix is one of the largest companies in the United States, and, therefore, the ways of communication used by its leadership and management present an interesting case.
Netflix is a unique company due to the fact that it has two Co-CEOs, Reed Hasting, also a founder of the firm, and Ted Sarandos. Additionally, the Co-CEOs utilize an uncommon way of communicating with their investors, employees, and clients, namely, using interviews. Every quarter, the Co-CEOs and other leaders of the company participate in the Earnings Interview, where they answer different questions about the company’s performance. The interview takes place on the YouTube platform in a video format. Thus, it can be said that the Netflix leaders utilize both live streaming and face-to-face communication in order to convey their message.
The interview can be considered an unconventional but fairly effective channel of communication because it occurs in a live format, and the audience can see the leaders. Moreover, the interview enables leaders to cover several topics and form several messages for the audience. For instance, in the Netflix Q3 2021 Earnings Interview, the Co-CEOs said that the investors could expect a growth of the company in countries outside of the United States (Netflix Investor Relations, 2021). Additionally, the Co-CEOs said that the company would continue collaborating with other businesses such as Walmart to produce various consumer products (Netflix Investor Relations, 2021). As research shows, compared to managers, leaders always must possess charisma and vision in order to be effective (Ngai & Singh, 2017). Netflix’s Earnings Interview is a solid example of charismatic leadership communication where Co-CEOs can openly outline their vision for the company’s future. Therefore, thcliene interview can be considered effective in attaining the main goals of the Netflix leaders of communicating their message to the audience. At the same time, the feedback potential of the interview is limited since it prevents the audience members from engaging in discussion with leaders.
As mentioned above, the means of communication such as channel as well as the message vary depending on the person’s position in the company, and Netflix is not an exception. Managers at Netflix have a communication style which is different from that of the Co-CEOs. One of the main characteristics of managers’ communication styles is the use of channels such as face-to-face, e‑mails, and telephone calls (Erjavec et al., 2018). Additionally, managers do not outline a vision of the company, as leaders do, but instead convey smaller tasks to their subordinates. As a result, while leaders can communicate their messages only on certain occasions, managers need to do it on a day-to-day basis. Therefore, the interview format would not be appropriate for managers since it would not allow them to perform their professional responsibilities.
Netflix is a large company whose leaders and managers tend to have different communication styles and channels. While Netflix Co-CEOs use interviews as a way to communicate their message to the audience, managers rely on face-to-face communication, e-mails, and calls. Moreover, the message of Netflix Co-CEOs usually concerns a certain vision for the company’s future, while managers’ messages relate to particular tasks that they and their subordinates need to perform. Netflix Co-CEOs’ choice of communication style can be considered successful because interviews allow them to achieve their goals of effectively conveying the vision to the investors, employees, and clients.
References
Erjavec, K., Arsenijević, O., & Starc, J. (2018). Satisfaction with managers’ use of communication channels and its effect on employee-organisation relationships. Journal of East European Management Studies, 4(18), 559–578. Web.
Netflix Investor Relations. (2021). Netflix Q3 2021 earnings interview [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Ngai, C. S. B., & Singh, R. G. (2017). Move structure and communication style of leaders’ messages in corporate discourse: A cross-cultural perspective. Discourse & Communication, 11(3), 276–295. Web.