Communicating Change

Thank you to Gregg Patterson for allowing us to reproduce his article.

The Change Adventure

Change is happening---and the pace of change is accelerating.

Change is an adventure---a journey filled with uncertainty, emotional angst, operational turmoil and painful surprises. Anticipating those changes and responding with enthusiasm can be---with the right?“change mindset”--- a joy for the management team. Change Leaders---those who see change coming, who love the opportunities change offers and who “create the future”---will flourish.

But change is all about uncertainty and uncertainty is scary for those who are being impacted by the change. Change and the possibility of change make The Impacted cautious, twitchy, negative and combative. The Impacted cling to?What Is?because they?know “what is”, have adjusted to “what is” and have accepted that “what is” is effortless,?pain free and good enough.

The challenge for Changers is to make The Impacted receptive to change and to make the changes made---STICK.

And Job One?of “doing change right” is understanding?the five parts of the Change?Journey............

The Change Journey

Managers and Boards who’ve done?change right appreciate that every change involves a five step process.

Step One---Identify and Prioritize Change Possibilities. Change leaders know lots of things need changing. They identify the change possibilities, prioritize and communicate the list and the priorities---and listen for feedback.

Step Two---Approve the Change.?Feedback is collected, pondering takes place and the changes are approved---and the what, why, why not and how are communicated and feedback is collected.

Step Three---Make the Change.?The changes are undertaken, the process is communicated---and feedback is collected.

Step Four---Debrief the Changes.?Input is collected and ponder gets done---and insights are communicated and feedback is collected.

Step Five---Changing the Changes.?After doing the debrief and pondering the feedback, the?changes are “tweaked” as needed---and the what, why, why not, how and?when of “the tweaks?are communicated and feedback is collected.

To be effective, each of these steps needs to be properly communicated.

Here’s how. To read the rest of this article, click here.