Author: Norm Schultz

Part 3: For Organizations

You have probably heard that you should have a communication strategy in place for major change. But what does that look like, who is involved, and how do you do it? Timing is also a very important factor. For example, when two major airlines merge – it is kind of hard to keep it a secret. It is all over the news and in the papers. And, to complicate things even more, the list of stakeholders spans the globe and covers everyone from internal employees to contractors, to paying customers!

In my experience helping clients navigate large scale change, these are some of the key aspects that should be included in a communication strategy.

1. Clarify the WIIFM for all stakeholders. You may be aware of the need for the change, and for how it benefits your organization. But at the same time, each group affected needs to know how it will impact them. What’s in it for me? This is the rallying cry of each individual, team and department. Good to think it through and be sure this part of the message is front and center.

2. Select credible leaders to deliver the message. This should be someone who has rapport and credibility with those who receive the message. If people automatically delete emails coming from “Leader X,” that is not the person to communicate change. Similarly, don’t send out leaders to talk about the change unless they are fully informed, on board, committed to the change, and prepared thoroughly for the presentation.

3. Make communication face to face as much as possible. It may not be as efficient as email or broadcast announcements or Twitter, but the human side of change is so powerful, it really should be communicated in person. Body language, voice inflections and facial expressions matter in getting the whole message across. Responding to questions, even heated ones, can help clear the air and keep the rumor mill in check.

4. Create a cascade-down, feedback-up loop. Make sure all your messages are consistent, so that the initial town hall meeting is reinforced by department meetings, and by team meetings or daily huddles. The messages will get more specific as you get to the team level, but they need to remain consistent from the top all the way to the team level. As issues, questions and details are hammered out at the implementation level, a feedback loop should communicate upward about what is working and what needs to be
adjusted or addressed.

5. Keep communicating all the way to the end. If you communicate once and expect compliance and acceptance for the change, good luck: it probably just won’t work that way. Constant communication helps sustain and coordinate efforts to make the change sustainable. People need to know that it is still important, in the works, and that they should continue their efforts on the change.

As you have seen in this series, communicating for effective change requires rigorous thought, strategy, and execution. You must stay focused on the change, find the right champions, be visible, and keep communicating the merits of the change every step of the way. Leaders who put in this effort can definitely reap the rewards of a well-communicated change effort.

Managing large-scale change is usually not accomplished as a grass-roots effort. It requires leaders to pave the way and set aside budget and resources for change management and communications. Every successful change that I have worked on has had adequate resource and visibility assigned to change/management and communications. Where this visibility is minimal or sub-optimal, failure is not far to follow!

Part Two: For front line supervisors and managers:

As we noted last time, communicating change at all levels is critical for a successful change effort. As a front line manager or supervisor, recognize that you are the key change agent in your circle of influence. Your people look to you as they move through the change. Are you for it? Against it? Dragging your feet? They probably take their cues from you. If you are inexperienced, unskilled or uncomfortable about communicating change, learning how to do it effectively is a huge development opportunity for you. Some of the key skills to practice include:

1. Empathetic listening.

2. Helping direct employees reframe thoughts and beliefs.

3. Reinforce and support new behaviors.

Most of this work is done through your team huddles, meetings and one on one coaching. You may also assign self-study, recommend reading and discussion, or even hold a workshop or class to help your direct reports to work through change.

Watch out for these mistakes in communicating change:

Forgetting you are already ahead of the curve. You may have already had days or weeks to adjust to the upcoming change. By the time it is getting communicated, you may be well past any shock or surprise, already comfortable with the change. You may even have moved on to think about the next challenge. You may be ready for action and next steps, but your people may not. It is easy to forget that your direct reports, hearing about this change, may have emotional reactions they need to work through before they can get ready to implement it.

Underestimating your impact on others. If you seem to be “all business” about the change, while others are still reeling or dealing with emotions, they are bound to wonder why. They won’t understand that you have probably already “been there.” If they are worried about their jobs, roles, or how this is going to affect them, they won’t be ready or even able to hear your expectations. As a leader, you need to give them time and space to process the news in their time, not according to yours. Empathetic listening, working through and reframing thoughts and beliefs can take time you don’t feel you can afford. But not taking that time, rushing them to action before they are ready, can have a negative impact on the success of the change.

Not communicating early or often enough. Many times managers know the change is coming, but don’t have all the facts. Rather than talk about it with incomplete information, they stall. “I will communicate when I have the information” can sound to worried direct reports a lot like “I know but I don’t want to tell you because it is so awful.” Not communicating sends a message: it can make you look evasive, indecisive, not fully committed to the change, and not transparent. What is this doing to trust between you and your team? How much better to communicate early, saying “A change is on its way, and I don’t have all the information. What I can tell you now is this….and I will keep you informed as I learn more details.” It is not easy to face your people knowing they may be upset and knowing that you don’t have all the answers for them. But not communicating is so much more dangerous.

Most leaders underestimate the importance of their ability, willingness, and visibility in communicating about change efforts. You can reinforce and support your people as they move through the change by avoiding these common mistakes, and by taking proactive steps to help lead the way.

Surprise! Your organization is experiencing a major change…again. It’s a new process…or a merger…or reorganization…or a new product launch…or a new customer…OK, you get the picture. Just about the time you begin to feel comfortable with the last major change, here comes another one. It’s a sign of the times.

In this series, we will examine some aspects of leading yourself, you team, and your organization through change. Let’s start with you; if you are a supervisor, manager or leader at any level, you will be influential in the success of this change.

In my experience, most change efforts fail because either you have absentee sponsors or you have the wrong sponsor. Communication strategies, at all levels involved with the change must be thoughtfully planned out. It is understandable that leaders still have to do their “day job” but to be effective at leading change they need to plan enough time for their visibility and they must also carefully select their “doers” in order to accomplish their goals. Let’s look at what you can do to facilitate the change process.

For leaders:

1. Be visible. Don’t delegate the change to someone else to….don’t kick off the change and then retreat to your office or another project. You need to stay visible and involved all the way through the change. Leverage your current meeting rhythms, town hall meetings, whatever you do that gets you in front of the troops. If being visible is not your style or approach – get a coach and work on it. Remember not communicating is communicating something!

2. Take an active role. Get involved deeply in change efforts; ask for additional assignments. Working through a major change is a great opportunity for you to increase your own visibility and skills. Good leaders step up to communicating change. Make a presentation, deliver key messages, and go out to other locations to talk about the change. During a recent successful airline merger, senior executives made it a point to be highly visible and made all attempts to stay out in front and communicate what was going on. It really made a difference in how well they were able to move through the change.

3. Build a coalition of partners. Here is another chance to get outside your silo and engage with other leaders. Enlist them in the change. Develop key messages together about the change. Send out key communication briefings together. How much solidarity would you create by sending out a change message that comes jointly from, let’s say, Operations, IT, and HR, all reinforcing key messages about the change? Partner up!

4. Enlist your front line managers and supervisors. These are the people who are “in the trenches” throughout the change. This is where the change really takes place. Front line managers hear the concerns, help employees struggle with emotions, and see what adjustments are needed to make the change successful. Help managers develop their skills in change leadership by coaching or training them. This is the most effective level to manage change in organizations – managers and supervisor levels are the most trusted, and the closest to those impacted by the change.

5. Reinforce the troops. Take time to celebrate each milestone, providing plenty of appreciation, thanks and fun to help sustain momentum for the next steps. Examples might include a pizza party, picnic, town hall meeting with awards and live music, followed by cake and toasts.

We have taken an overview look at communication strategies you can take to help your organization move through change. Next time, we will look at some specifics for front line managers and supervisors.