What are downward, upward, and lateral communication?
Internal communication is split into three flows: downward (from management to teams), upward (from the field to management), and lateral (between colleagues or between departments at the same level).
Downward communication distributes instructions and decisions; upward brings feedback, ideas, and alerts up from the field; lateral enables coordination among peers. Many organizations master downward communication but neglect upward — even though it is essential to the field.
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