Change Happens: Part 3 – communicating change
Although, it is important to ask the right questions when it comes to creating/implementing change, you will come up short if you fail to communicate the change effectively.
Unfortunately people are not always as open to the idea of change as we would like. For this reason it is important to keep the following in mind when communicating a change.
1. Involve your influencers.
At some point everyone in your organization will need to know about the change, but it is important to get your key influencers on board early. During this time you can get their thoughts, insights and overall impressions of the change you are proposing. If you fail to include this group early on in the process, you will lose a great deal of credibility with them and they will not be the advocates for change that you need them to be.
2. Speak to the underlying value.
Many times people are resistant to change because they don’t understand the underlying value that is motivating the change. Often times, by clarifying the value you will come to find that those in opposition hold the very same value, they just have other thoughts on how the value should be addressed. Nevertheless you now have a common ground on which to begin dialoguing about the change.
3. Create tension or “urgency.”
People will push back on the idea of change because they simply do not realize that it is needed. In order to address this issue, it is important to help people realize the need for change before the change is actually implemented. This requires consistent communication of the need. Once people begin to see why you are trying to implement change they will be more receptive to the change you are proposing.
In all reality you will probably have people who will push back on the changes you are making even if your key influences are involved and on board, you have a common underlying value and they recognize that change is needed. However, you can minimize this by incorporating these three steps into your strategy for implementing change.
Have you ever experienced a change that was poorly communicated? How did that impact your view of the change?
Posted on April 20th, 2011 by David | 4 Comments »
Another great installment to this series!
Might I suggest including links to Part 1 & 2 at the top/bottom of the post?
Are you reading a book that has these nuggets of wisdom or are you drawing from experience? both?
KC that’s a great suggestion. I will definitely do that.
In regards to the “nuggets” they are a compilation of things I have garnered from my 6 1/2 years of ministry, various books, conferences, grad school and conversations I have had with other leaders.
In regards to your question, probably. I’m certain I have. But whats fresh on my mind is a change that was communicated within my company a couple days ago – a new VP was promoted, so his promotion was announced to the Americas team by out CEO (in town from the UK). It could have been a touchy situation, lots of unknowns, but he communicated the ‘change’ so positively, I’m certain that nearly everyone (myself included) left the meeting encouraged, optimistic, and ready to take on the day. I felt it was a perfect example of communicating change…. the right way.
There is definitely an art to communicating change and casting the vision for change. I have worked with a lot of leaders who have done a wonderful job of this, and others who really don’t do a very effective job. I think what you said about communicating change in a positive way really is essential. There is nothing worse than a leader who communicates change in a negative way because it immediately taints a person’s perception of the the change.