The narratives that make or break a change programme
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We show you how to use the extraordinary power of narrative to make transformation work
As a business transforms, there are different kinds of narratives happening across the entire organisation. These happen regardless of whether you want them to.?
What makes or breaks a change programme is whether you’re helping to shape and share these narratives, or simply reacting to them.?
Here’s how you can proactively develop narratives that increase the likelihood of successful change:?
Leadership stories
Personal stories of leaders who have been through change: These are often retrospective and become a metaphorical reflection of how change works and feels (and importantly, how to make it successful).??
What you can do
Equip your leaders with the skills and confidence they need to lead people through change. Give them the opportunity to share their experiences of change with their peers and team.?
The change story
A?forward-looking narrative that outlines the quest or journey ahead, the reason for change, the challenges?that might come along, and the reward that’ll make it worth it. It’s simple, transparent, and inspiring.??
What you can do
Change and story share the same structure. Whether it’s Aristotle’s Three Acts or Freytag’s climatic Pyramid (or both), make sure you’ve plotted the key points of your change against a story structure so that you’re ready to communicate what people need and want to know.
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The big change narrative (organisational)
A change narrative that contains multiple storylines to influence audiences as the change unfolds. These storylines?ebb and flow over time (and adapt to things as they happen) to make sure people are actively engaged.?
What you can do
Create 3-4 storylines that work hard to overcome the challenges that people often encounter when going through change. Start with the mindset you’d like to create by the end of the programme and then look at how people are thinking and feeling now. The storylines should close the gap between the two.?
Employee stories??
Good change management (and storytelling) is as much about listening as it is about speaking.?
What you can do
Collecting (and sometimes sharing) the experiences of the people around you is a valuable way to create a shared journey that everyone feels part of.?Do you have the mechanisms for two-way feedback in place??
Remember:
“Creating an emotionally compelling narrative about the desired change makes success almost x4 more likely” - Keller and Schainger, 2019?