Is change communication a skill in your leadership toolbox?
Axiom Communications Ltd
Enhancing Employee Experience & Driving Up Engagement through Communication Training, Conferences & Facilitation.
“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Those are the words of the 18th century scientist, inventor, politician and statesman Benjamin Franklin.
We can add one more to Franklin’s list: in modern business life, change too is inevitable.
The ability to communicate change well is a highly prized asset in any organisation but trying to predict what form change will take is notoriously difficult.
How many of these triggers for change inside your organisation can you can tick?
? new systems
? process changes
? new products and services
? changes in customer needs
? mergers and acquisitions
? new priorities and objectives
? new leaders
? restructures.
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Get ahead of the change curve
How people respond to change is well understood. Denial. Resistance. Exploration. Commitment. These phases are often described as points along a change curve.
If you can predict how people will respond to change, then you can plan how to communicate it, every step of the way.
As an effective leader, your role is to reinforce the need for change and stay ‘on message’ to help overcome denial. Allow people to vent their frustrations. Be empathetic, supportive, yet strong, to overcome resistance.
As colleagues explore what might be good about the change, harness the explosion of creativity. Involve the ‘explorers’ in helping to move the ‘deniers’ and ‘resisters’ forward.
Celebrate success and recognise the people who exemplify the behaviours and results associated with being committed to the change.
Communicate the case for change
Creating a compelling case for change that people can see, hear and feel is key. That can be done in a wide range of ways – including using the power of storytelling and imagery to engage people in the big picture of where the organisation is heading and how it’s going to get there.
Be the change you want to see
However convincing a case you make, it’ll fall flat unless people can see that you’re truly and passionately committed to it.
Leaders’ attitudes to the change can leak out in the way they communicate it, sending unintended and often unhelpful signals to the people they lead.
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