Managing Change Isn't Just About Communicating More

Although increased communication is a major component of implementing and sustaining a change initiative, just because you are communicating more doesn't mean you are managing change.  There is so much more to managing change than increased communication.  I've listed a few below.


1.  Creating A Compelling Vision
2.  Having Empathy For Those Going Thru the Change
3.  Empowering Team Members to Help With the Change
4. Overcoming Resistance

And most importantly, Leading the Change Effort
Let's take a look at what that means in a little more detail. The aforementioned list indicates your first requirement is to create a compelling vision.  I promise to write more posts on this topic in the coming days and weeks but the bottom line is, the book of Proverbs says it best - without vision, the people will perish.  


After creating the compelling vision, your job is really to be human and empathetic to those going through the change.  Again, more to come on that topic.


Empowering means you need to give them control over anything you possibly can give them control over.  Let them provide input.  Let them run with ideas (within reason).  People don't like change because it makes them feel powerless.  Give them whatever power you possibly can.  


And overcoming resistance definitely requires it's own post.  Sorry, no time for that today.  


Today, we are going to focus on you and how you can lead the change effort after the compelling vision has been created.


Being Visible - One of the biggest mistakes leaders make when implementing change is to spend more time behind closed doors.  They don't want to deal with the bad attitudes, frustration, and questions of the employees so when they aren't in meetings they are in their office with the door closed.  When you are implementing change, your face time quota needs to be increased.  Cancel some of those meetings.  Send a delegate.  Ask for an agenda and determine if you really need to be there.  


Demonstrating Enthusiasm (Even When You Aren't Feeling It) - I guarantee your employees are watching your every move.  If you look tired, frustrated, and unhappy, that is their tip that they should be frustrated and unhappy too.  You need to wake up each day and put on your game face - fake it till you make it if necessary.  


Providing Clear Direction on a Daily Basis - Depending on how big the change initiative is, your people will need your guidance and direction more than ever.  With most change initiatives, there is a lot of new information being provided.  It's difficult to retain it all.  They need you there, visible, empathetic, and providing clear direction as well as encouragement.


Listening - Remember, change is stressful.  It conjures up fears you would not even expect to happen.  What we don't know, we make up.  And in this economic climate, employees are often making up the worst.  Sometimes they just need you to listen.  That doesn't mean one up them, convince them of why they shouldn't feel that way, or tell them not to worry.  It simply means "listen."


Enlisting the Help of Change Agents on Your Team - The final step in this category is to enlist the help of change agents on your team.  I'm talking about the people that are catching on quick, those that are adaptable.  Ask them to help you help everyone else.  Make sure you keep these people energized and engaged so they can create the domino reaction you need to implement the change successfully.  


For more information regarding managing change, see my other blog post titled "5 Steps Toward Implementing Change"

Also, John Kotter has great material in his book Leading Change

Are You Getting Others Excited About the Change?

“Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times” - Machiavelli

Machiavelli died in 1527 yet these words of wisdom still hold to be so true. Our times require constant change. We know the change must happen.  The question becomes are you, the leader, able to communicate the change in a compelling way?

 

Get Me Excited Please!

There is nothing more exciting than listening to a leader that has passion and a clearly articulated vision for the future (Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech comes to mind). 

Merely the fact that I wrote the former sentence indicates it doesn’t happen enough.

Leaders at all levels of an organization can and should be able to communicate a vision worthy of people wanting to follow.  If you can’t get excited about your vision, how can I (i.e. the employee)?

Too often, leaders, faced with implementing a change gather the group in a staff meeting and tiredly, almost dejectedly say something to the effect of  “I know you don’t like changing things but we need to do this.  It’s gonna be great.”  Oh boy, that makes me want to run right out there and get on board. 

If leaders realized that all change, even the small process changes, if communicated with passion and a vision, could be implemented faster, easier, and with less resistance, maybe they would put forth a little more effort in crafting an appropriate communication message.  It’s like a magic pill really. 

As John P. Kotter asserted some 10 years ago, “The rate of change is not going to slow down anytime soon. If anything, competition in most industries will probably speed up even more in the next few decades” – John P. Kotter

What is a Vision Anyway?

Sometimes I wonder if leaders get “hung up” because they think they are just sharing information and aren’t really communicating a vision.  Regardless of whether you are sharing the overarching corporate vision or just the vision of a particular project, there should be a vision or an end result. 

In his book on Leading Change, John Kotter describes a vision as an “imaginable picture of the future”. 

Let’s break down that statement. 

Imaginable - To invoke an adequate amount of passion the vision has to be realistic yet a stretch considering the current state.   

Picture - Paint me a picture.  Help me to see where we could be.  What will it look like if we accomplish this?  What will it feel like? Who will be a part of this vision? Why should I get excited about it?

Future - Businesses generally implement change because there is a perception the change will add some sort of value.  This isn’t always the case.  Sometimes change happens due to circumstances or an economic change.     Regardless of the change, as the leader, you have to wrap your head around why this change is good and how it’s going to help the team and/or the organization in the long run.  They look to you for leadership.  

Leadership, at its very core is leading others to a new destination.

Now that we know what a vision is, let’s discuss how to communicate that vision.

Communicating the Vision

So many of the problems in the work place stem back to a lack of communication.  Here are a few things I know about people regarding communication:

In the absence of information, people make up their own.

People interpret the information provided differently based on their frame of reference, experiences, and interpretation of the words communicated.

Just keeping in mind those two points, it’s amazing we are able to communicate at all.  The good news is, effective and compelling communication is possible and we see it every day.  

I’m not going to cover the basics of public speaking but I am going to discuss the steps to communicating a compelling vision.

1. Make the case for change (why do we need to change)
2.  Paint a picture of how it could be (i.e. future state).
3. Tell me what this means for me (How will this change affect me personally). 
4. Tell me what I need to do right now.
5.  Keep me informed along the way (critical step). 

It’s really that easy.  It doesn’t matter whether you are letting the group know you’ve hired a new leader, you’re implementing a new performance management system, or your company is being acquired.  Regardless of the change, if you ensure every communication message includes these five points your team members will have the information necessary to help implement the change.  Let’s try an example regarding implementing a new computer software program in the accounting area.

1. Case for Change - As you all know, the year end process is cumbersome, time consuming, and very stressful for all of you.  You end up working extra hours for two months and I know this takes away from your family time.
2.  Paint a Picture - Wouldn't it be great if we had a system in place that didn't require all the additional work?  What if we had a system that was set up to run these reports routinely?  With technology the way it is today, we can implement a system that does the extra work for us.  Can you imagine how nice it would be to have the information you need at your fingertips and be able to work normal hours again?
3. What does this mean to me? – The system we are going to implement will do those things for us.  We do have to do some work at the front end in order to get it working the way we need to.  For a couple of weeks I’m going to ask for extra work from some of you.  And others are going to be asked to perform tasks that aren't a normal part of your job.  We all have to work together to get it up and running.  Within 30 days you should all be back to working normal hours again.  There may be a few changes regarding how you do your job because the system will now perform some of the tasks we do manually.  Let me be clear, everyone still has a job and will continue to have a job although some of your duties may change. 
4. What do I need to do now? – Right now I just need your positive attitude about this change and commitment to get it done.  Can I count on your help?
5.  Keep Me Informed – We will meet weekly to check on the progress of this implementation and notify you of any additional changes along the way.  That’s my commitment to you. 

See, not so tough huh?  Just take the time to craft a message and use notes if necessary.  It can’t possibly hurt can it?

Mari