Seven Principles for Leadership Communication During Change
Our last newsletter focused on the leader's role in engaging the workforce to remain committed and focused on the business during challenging times where change is often a way of life. In the second installment of this two-part series on leadership communication and engagement, we focus on the seven principles of leadership communication during times of change.
- The primary goal of change communication is behavior change.
- Turn all eyes outward to find the case for change.
- The needs of your key stakeholders should be your starting point.
- Change communication must be proactive, not reactive.
- Change communication is a leadership responsibility.
- Change is messy, which makes clarity key.
- Change is a journey, not a destination.
When a change is being planned in your organization, it's important to identify the specific behaviors you want to see as a result of the change before you begin communicating about it. Leaders should be able to answer the question that will be on the forefront of each employee's mind: "What do you want me to do differently?"
For example, one pharmaceutical organization was restructuring its sales force in a way that was going to result in a dramatic cultural change. Before launching this change, we worked with the leadership team to define behaviors that put primary focus on the customers, encouraged sharing information across groups, and finding new and better ways to do things. Managers were trained on how to demonstrate these behaviors, as well as how to work with their teams to determine ways they could live the behaviors at the team and individual levels.
Employees today increasingly want to know not only what the change is, but why it is happening. A compelling case for change should be grounded in the marketplace and competitive landscape. A healthcare organization we worked with was implementing a new business strategy and had communicated it broadly to the organization. A survey showed that although people had heard about the strategy, they did not understand why this was the right strategy for the business. To address this, the company launched a series of discussion groups, led by senior leaders, which managers from across the organization participated in. These discussion groups addressed the complex changes taking place within healthcare and the capabilities the organization needed to meet these challenges. Managers were then able to talk with their teams and with one another about what was driving the new business strategy to encourage higher levels of commitment and engagement.
Change does not affect all people in the same way, and communication about change should reflect the differences in the way employees experience the change in an organization. Before communicating about the change, it's important to conduct a thorough stakeholder analysis of your various audience segments and key individuals. Who are the major stakeholders that will be impacted by the change? Are there any individuals or groups who are not impacted directly, but who are key influencers? Once you have determined your audiences, you can identify their issues, concerns and the level of impact the change will have on them, enabling you to then determine the appropriate communication strategy and tactics for each group.
During times of change the rumor mill can run rampant, particularly if the organization is not actively communicating about the change and its impact. Anticipating and addressing challenges and questions related to the change goes a long way to reduce employee speculation about what's happening and help people stay focused on the business.
For any change to be effectively executed, leaders need to articulate and model the key messages consistently and engage employees in the change. To do this, leaders must be equipped with the skills and tools to fulfill their role.
For example, a global technology organization we partnered with was undergoing a significant change in strategy. They understood and supported the need for leadership communication to ensure that the change was successful. However, the company's challenge was to quickly equip leaders who were dispersed around the globe. To address this challenge, they developed a comprehensive change tool kit for leaders, and then conducted a series of webinars to train leaders to use the tool kit. The response to this process was very positive from leaders, who said they believed the tool kit and training were a crucial factor in successfully implementing the change in strategy.
Change is a messy business, and can quickly evolve into confusion if the participants' responsibilities are poorly delineated. Another way to minimize confusion is to align leaders behind consistent messaging, so that information employees get is consistent and everyone has a clear focus on what needs to be done to effectively execute the change.
And the final principal of leadership communication during change…
In most organizations today, change is the rule rather than the exception. One of the great benefits of equipping leaders to communicate change effectively now is that they will be better able to communicate future changes, and that is a worthwhile investment.
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