Six principles for leadership communication during change
Many organizations today are experiencing a tremendous amount of change. For the change to be effective and result in the desired outcomes, leaders must be at the front and center of any communication strategy. In my next two newsletters, I'll be focusing on the six principles of leadership communication during times of change, which communicators can use to help leaders increase their communication effectiveness. Let’s start with the first three.
1. The primary goal of change communication is behavior change.
Whatever change is taking place 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 at the forefront of each employee’s mind: “What do you want me to do differently?”
For example, one pharmaceutical organization was restructuring their sales organization in a way that was going to result in a dramatic cultural change. Before launching the new organization, we worked with the leadership team to define behaviors that focused on putting customers at the center, sharing information across groups and finding new and improved ways to do things. The managers were then trained to work with those behaviors with each of their teams and determine ways that they could live the behaviors at the team and individual levels.
2. The case for change should be found in the marketplace.
Today's employees want to know not only what the change is, but why it's happening. To create a compelling case for change, the answer to this question should be grounded in what’s going on in the marketplace and competitive landscape.
A healthcare organization we worked with was in the process of 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 have a clear understanding of it or what was driving it. To address this, the company launched a series of discussion groups, led by senior leaders in which managers from across the organization participated. These discussion groups address the complex changes that are going on with healthcare, and the capabilities the organization will need to meet these challenges. Managers are then prepared to talk to their teams about what is driving the change, to increase understanding.
3. The foundation of your plan is the needs of your key stakeholders.
Change does not affect everyone in the same way, and communication about change should reflect the differences in the way employees experience the change in your 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 that should be considered? Once you have your audiences, you can then identify their issues and concerns and the level of impact of the change on them, and then determine the communication strategy and tactics for each group.
In summary, addressing these areas with your leaders will result in better outcomes for the change your organization is undergoing, and better prepare your leaders and employees for changes in the future. Next month, we will focus on the next three principles of leadership communication during times of change.
- Change communication must be proactive, not reactive.
- Leaders must understand their role in the communication process and align around consistent messages.
- Change is a journey without an end.
Have your say
Can you use these principles to improve leadership communication during change in your organization? And how have you communicated the correlation between organizational change and what's happening in the marketplace?
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