June 2011
Most organizations hate change. It’s built into our DNA.
Yet every organization has to embrace change to survive.
How leaders communicate change can be as important as the change itself. Most companies stumble with the order of their messages, much like the saying, “Ready, Fire, Aim!”
Engaging employees in the change requires three pieces of information:
- Why does the organization have to change?
- How is the organization going to change?
- Where will the organization be after the change?
Most organizations make the mistake of starting with how the change will happen. The emphasis on operations creates confusion (“What’s going on?”) and even resentment (“Is this the latest program-of-the-week?”) among employees.
A better approach is to begin with why the change is necessary. The picture has to be clear to employees that staying in place will hurt the organization – and potentially jobs.
Follow with where the organization will be after the change. Leaders should paint a clear vision of the new and better organization. This will help to answer some of the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) questions from employees.
The last step is how the change will happen.
April 2010
Difficult decisions often are unpopular.
In addition to making the decision, CEOs and other senior executives have the challenging task of communicating the decision – sometimes to angry constituencies – because the business must continue to operate.
Here’s how to handle these situations:
- Be the standard of the truth. This should be pretty easy. Say “I can’t share that information” if a piece of information is confidential or not intended to be public.
- Meet people on the right emotional level. It’s easy to talk numbers, margins, markets, etc. Employees don’t care about any of that until they believe your understand and accept their emotional state. It’s often fear – What does this mean for my job? It can be anger. Make sure to acknowledge the feelings and accept them.
- Create context for the decision. “Why did the company have to [insert tough decision]?” This question shows a lack of context. Be clear and specific about what caused the problems leading to the tough decision.
- Provide criteria for the decision. “How did they decide to [insert tough decision]?” People are more tolerant when they understand how leadership makes decisions. By sharing this information, you prevent the rumor mill from making up its own criteria, which you will undoubtedly not like.
- Set the target. It’s impossible for companies to return to business as usual after a significant change. The change is supposed to create a new normal that is better for the company’s future. Explain what it will take to achieve that new normal and how employees can help.
