Change-driving impact
LEADERSHIP FACT
Did you know?
Organisations with better financial performance have more women in leadership roles.29
Self-assessment
Before reading this chapter, do the following quick self-assessment.
How would you rate your ability to create change-driving impact in these areas?
The case for embracing and driving change
Successful change needs everyone onboard. This chapter explores and outlines how you can plan your impact to achieve successful change, by helping people embrace it and help drive it.
We have learned that people will change for one of two reasons:-
- A burning platform. When there is something that has to be done or there are consequences if it is not. When the current reality is so painful that people need to move away from it.
- A compelling reason. When there is something they strongly desire that pulls them towards it.
A strong allegiance
During the merger of the two companies, Samuel felt a strong allegiance with his old brand; he wanted to hold onto the good things that they had created. He liked what they stood for. Stephen was keen to see the merger progress. He was happy to see that there was change ahead and was keen for the new ideas that would be spilling into the newly merged company.
These feelings can create two camps, often pulling people in different directions. Some pull away from what they feel is painful with the new company and others feel it is a pleasure to be working in a new environment and are excited by the change. It is extra important in those scenarios to quickly get teams together to explore their new joint purpose and direction. Otherwise, the divide will be allowed to grow and it can take longer to get the organisation off to a new start. It is better to create that shared feeling and excitement about something new, including taking what was good in the old brand, not losing that, while adding to the new brand. This approach ensures there is value being added to the merger. After all that is the reason for it in the first place!
By keeping these two reasons in mind, you can work out how best to motivate and inspire people to change. Being aware of the real reason for change helps you to map out your approach. Is it moving towards something compelling or away from something that is more painful?
For years, managing change has been a key necessity for organisations across the globe.
Managing change is largely a reactive response to changes that occur, in order to make those changes work. Being able to manage change ensures your business can effectively handle the circumstances brought on by internal and external events.
But simply managing change is not enough to make the most of opportunities on the horizon; we also need to be able to lead change.
So, should we be adding ‘change leadership’ to our vocabulary, alongside ‘change management’? Definitely!
Change leadership, not just change management.
What does change leadership involve?
Be proactive
To lead change is to be proactive. It is thinking ahead: What do we need to do next, how do we need to change to be able to meet customers’/the world’s needs to be successful? It is looking around you: What’s going on in the market, the world and the society I’m in? What do I need to be aware of? What are the signs that things might be changing or that they should change?
Be strategic
Why are we changing? How will it contribute to the vision? What is the red thread, what are the links that connect me and everyone else to each other and to the overall vision?
Take control
To lead change is to take control, which is a much better place to be in than feeling out of control. When you start to be proactive about change, you make it a very natural thing and, potentially, less threatening to your team members.
Involve your team
Another key aspect of leading change is to involve employees in it. It is not just the role of the leader to lead change. All employees can actively scan the world around them to understand the bigger picture and make better decisions for the organisation.
The emotional reaction to change – be aware of your and others’ emotions
Change is inherently emotional. Understand what it does to you, the emotional reaction that you have and how that is leaking to others. Others, on the other hand, may be having a different emotional reaction. A huge part of dealing with change is understanding how you are reacting with others and how they are reacting.
The (2020 Vision) Leader Impact Model™
How people feel impacts how connected they are to the change and, therefore, if the change actually occurs. This is the reason that many changes fail, because the emotional aspects have been ignored. Many people want to ignore the emotional phase of change as it is the hardest to deal with. Others are aware of the emotional phase but want to quickly skip over it.
This describes the ripple effect of leading and managing your inner self, which is illustrated in the model above.
This model shows how the thoughts we have will impact our feelings, which then make us behave in a certain way in line with our feelings. This results in how we impact others and, therefore, the results that we start to get.
WIIFM? What’s in it for me?
As the merger became a reality, Helmut had reflected on what resources he needed in place in order to progress the expected growth as quickly as possible. His direct report Samuel had, so far, done a good job as the leader of one of his key teams, but Helmut did not think he was agile enough in his thinking and, therefore, decided to demote Samuel and put Stephen in his place instead, effectively as Samuel’s manager.
As soon as Helmut had made the decision, he proceeded to approach Stephen, offering him the new role. Stephen happily accepted but was not immediately made aware that Samuel would still be around, now as his direct report. Two days before Stephen was about to join the team, Helmut decided to tell Samuel about his demotion and he did so without much consideration for how Samuel would react. Samuel was shocked and angry and felt that he had been very unfairly treated. At the same time, he did not want to have to find a new job so he decided that, as he would get to keep his salary, he would stay around – but his heart was not in it any more and he was not going to make Stephen’s life easy.
In this example, Samuel reacted to change with the first thoughts of WIIFM. It is a natural human reaction that cannot be ignored and needs to be taken into consideration. This was not a good situation for anyone and, although Helmut had spent time thinking about the changes he was going to make, he had not thought about the impact on his team members.
During any change, people will ask themselves: What is in it for me? How does it affect me? What does it mean for me, my work, my life, my family, home?
Remember that people are convinced in different ways, so you will need to use different methods to engage them in the change; it cannot always be one size fits all.
Change leadership involves thinking of all the dynamics detailed above. When dealing with change, here are the biggest change scenarios we see people come up against regularly:
- mergers, acquisitions and de-mergers
- change of leader
- digital transformation, including automation, artificial intelligence, etc
- structural changes – roles, reporting lines, team changes
- downsizing
- rapid growth
- culture change
The impact of not leading change effectively
When change is not carefully managed, people and teams can be dramatically affected. The introduction of the change is often perceived as sudden, even if the leader or the person creating the change has thought about it for a very long time. The reactions to the suddenness can make things fraught.
- It creates stress, which affects the mood. When this happens, conflict and unnecessary strain on relationships occur.
- Employees feel unsure and spend time speculating about the change, which takes focus away from their work. When this happens, energy and engagement levels drop, not to mention productivity. Time can be spent speculating the change rather than being productive.
- If a change is not properly thought through and planned, change implementation will be less effective and the employees will be less productive.
Change fatigue is another challenge for organisations. We live in a world of constant change. In fact, it is normal to live amongst rapid change. Change fatigue is something to be aware of. It can lead to people simply feeling overwhelmed with change and therefore becoming passive aggressive to the change. So they will nod, meaning, ‘I heard you but I have no intention of doing anything because it will all change again very soon. I have seen all of this before.’ They become passive in the change as they are tired of repetitive changes.
All these challenges have an impact on individuals and teams, leading to a drop in productivity, which is always costly.
Effective change benefits from both thoughtful, strategic change leadership as well as practical change management. They are constantly intertwined and we need both. A big part of change management is managing the change curve, which we will review in more detail in this chapter.
Let us reflect on and create a Roadmap for how to achieve change-driving impact. These steps include tools and tips to achieve your outcome.
Roadmap step 1: decide on the outcome
So, what is it that you want to achieve? For what purpose do you want to drive change better, more effectively? Is there a specific change you are thinking about? The clearer you can be on this, the more pull it will have on you and the people involved, helping you make choices to move you towards it.
So, what could an outcome look like? Let us use an example. We will continue using this example throughout the chapter.
Anna’s region is downsizing the main office and closing the others, being left with a small regional hub. As a rule, people will work remotely, using digital tools to communicate and collaborate. They are also moving to a new independent model of working, which involves great focus on output rather than input. This means each person can pretty much do their job the way they want to as long as they deliver the expected output.
Some employees like it, some do not. Some feel they will lose the social camaraderie, the ability to bounce ideas, which could impact creativity. Anna will need to lead differently, trusting people and giving them much greater freedom than before.
To make sense, any outcome should contribute to the overall vision and purpose of the organisation. There needs to be a red thread from the outcome you identify to each person’s part in it. There has to be a compelling reason to drive change, rather than just ‘it’s the right thing to do’.
The outcome in this case can be described as: Anna wants her regional teams to fully have bought into the new work model and be ready to deploy it effectively from day 1.
Anna needs to find new leadership habits to successfully lead herself and her teams to make all this a reality.
This example shows how Anna is thinking through, as a leader, how to best impact her teams to see the value in the change, embrace it and become a part of it.
Fill in your change-driving outcome below – why you want people to embrace and help drive change better, faster or more effectively.
My change-driving outcome is:
Roadmap step 2: set a target date
By when do you want to achieve this? And, if there is not an obvious target date, do you need to create one? Deadlines focus the mind and start an internal clock ticking. Without a clear endpoint, things can drift and procrastination can kick in. What gets measured gets done.
In this chapter’s story, there is a given deadline, where Anna knows the office closes or reduces in size in nine months’ time.
What is your target date? Fill it in here.
The target date is:
Roadmap step 3: understand the stakeholders
Who does this involve and impact? Who are your stakeholders? What do you know and understand about them? What more do you need to know about them?
There are mixed emotions about this change, and Anna is well aware of that. Some of her team members have asked for this flexible way of working for a long time. They are really onboard and could have a great positive, change-driving effect on their colleagues. Those who fear the change see it as a threat to teamwork and they question whether everyone will take responsibility when given all that freedom.
As digital solutions are at the heart of this setup, alignment with IT to make sure it all works as planned is crucial to avoid ending up in a blame scenario.
Anna has to deliver the changes and the cost reductions that they will bring to her boss, Stephen. He has been a part of a bigger change initiative and Anna has to deliver her regional targets along with her peers. Anna also wants to engage with her peers who lead other regions to ensure they are aligned on their approach. Customers need to be considered in the change and Anna wants to ensure the impact to them is minimal. In fact, they simply need to see that the change is for the better.
Anna wants to impact her team to create the change so her focus is on getting them to drive and own the changes needed, helping them to see the benefits and getting her team involved in influencing the other stakeholders too. If she does involve her team, then the change can be implemented more quickly.
As Anna starts to analyse her stakeholders, she realises there are more people affected by this change and therefore connected to the change. Anna will have to work with her direct reports, her peers, her boss, the IT department and customers too. The awareness of this helps her to see the links between all of them and how she can lead this change. She also wants to ‘put herself in the shoes of her team members’ to think about the best way to get them to engage in this change, using those who are keen on the change to help to drive the change with those team members who are not so keen.
You must stop and reflect on the bigger picture, being strategic and consider each stakeholder individually as well as how they impact each other. Please complete your own stakeholder analysis below.
My stakeholders are:
This is what I know about them and their needs:
For more in-depth information on stakeholder planning, please go to Chapter 4.
Roadmap step 4: assess the current reality
Be realistic about where you currently are with regards to people’s readiness level to embrace and help drive change for this specific outcome. Notice the difference between where you are right now and where you want to be (your outcome). How big is the gap? You really need to get a sense of how big or small the gap is so that you can make a realistic assessment of what it will take to close the gap. Do not be judgemental about it, accept the current reality as it is – it is not good, bad, right or wrong.
Whenever there is a gap between how things are now and how you want them to be, there is a natural tension that is created in that space. That tension can be described as an elastic band pulled taut between the current and future situation. Unless the desired outcome is strong enough to pull you out of the current reality, you will default back into current reality. So make sure the outcome you are after is very clear and shared with those whom it concerns.
Anna was in the middle of a team meeting where her direct report team were discussing the downsizing and the new smaller regional hub. The main challenges the team were describing included the fear of not being together to share ideas and thoughts. They were also a team that liked to come together for social interaction, to make work fun and to bounce ideas around. They talked about the lack of teamwork and motivation they may experience in this new environment. How are we going to keep this up when we are based remotely and on our own?
Anna observed some team members getting very vocal about all of this. The team were reminding themselves that, currently, they did not have the right tools to be able to work remotely effectively. In fact, they were even coming up with more reasons why this would be tough. Anna was afraid that the people on the team who were enthusiastic were becoming despondent.
Anna is experiencing frustration. She can see what needs to happen, she is closer to the change and has, indeed, been discussing it with Stephen for some time. She also acknowledges that she too had to go through her own frustrations with the downsizing before she could see the way forward. Now her team were doing the same thing. She wanted to rush them through so they could just get on with it. However, she recognised she needed to lead them through it. To do this, she had to acknowledge the change curve and where the team were in the change curve and where she was too.
Phase 1 Denial/Resistance
When people are in the denial phase, you need to communicate, but do not give them too much at this point, not too much, too soon. Give them enough information, so that they understand that the change is happening, but do not overwhelm them. They need communication little and often. Make sure people know where to go for answers. Make sure you are available to answer questions to help them move through the change curve and into the next quadrant.
Phase 2 Emotional
During this phase, the fear, anger, resentment and uncertainty start to come into play. Team members may need to vent their anger and share how they feel. This is a normal human reaction that needs to happen. In carefully planning this phase, you need to have thought through the obstacles and objections people will bring up. Also, really think about the impact the change has. Be ready to listen and allow people to talk about what they are experiencing. If this is not led effectively, it can send you into chaos. People who do not feel like anyone understands what they are feeling tend to stay in the emotional phase. Be prepared to listen and help people to get answers to their concerns, so that they can move on to the next phase. You cannot force people through the change, otherwise you experience the passive aggressive reaction to change.
Phase 3 Hopeful/Acceptance
Employees are now moving towards the change; they are ready to explore more around what it means for them. They are also considering how they can start to make it work and can start to contribute with ideas for the change implementation. Be ready with any training, support or guidance here. This is where you can add value to their responses. Also, give them experiences of what the change will bring and what it will be like. Talk about and show them what it will be like when the change is implemented.
Phase 4 Commitment
The team have come through the change and accepted it and it is now happening. This is the point to celebrate success, to celebrate the achievements along the way. Remember how far you have come and appreciate that. This will reinforce the positives of the change and make it easier next time you want to implement change.
Anna was clearly in the commitment part of the change curve while her team were still in denial and resistance. As a leader, it is important to know this is happening, and then lead with that in mind. Anna was in denial and resistance when she first heard of the change but has now moved to the commitment phase over time herself. As a leader, this is part of leading change-driving impact. In fact, acknowledging the gap between where you are and others are on the change curve is probably the most important part of leading change.
Anna’s current reality is that there is fear of the change within the team, lots of speculation of how it will work and what it means for each person – the WIIFM (What’s in it for me?). This is now affecting even those who were feeling OK about the change.
What does your current reality look like (in contrast to your outcome)? Write it down here.
Our current reality looks like this:
What are you going to do with that distance, that natural tension that is created between the current reality and the desired outcome? Hold on to any ideas you are having – we will get to action planning in step 6.
Roadmap step 5: what do you and others need to learn?
What do you need to learn (about) to be able to do this?
What do your stakeholders need to learn?
With this change comes a need to learn, we all need to learn. Having a culture of always wanting to learn means we are more open to being creative and it forces us to look at things differently. This helps us to continue to be innovative.
Thinking we know everything is outdated; how can we in a world that changes so fast? Data suggests that 50 per cent of what is taught during the first year of a four-year technical degree is outdated by year three.30 Even the most experienced of people have something they need to learn. In every situation, you need to challenge yourself and others in what needs to be learnt uniquely in each situation. Actually, having a step 5 in this Roadmap focuses you on reviewing what you need to learn, it gives you permission to not have to have all the answers. In a world of constant change, how can we possibly have all the answers? Even thinking you have all the answers is naive and outdated.
Anna’s team were in different places with this change; it was taking time for them to get to understand what this change really meant. Lots of chatter was around’ Where will you work from’ and ‘how will I know where you are going to be? How will I know where everyone is and what we are all thinking about in terms of the issues we face or the tasks and actions we need to deliver? It feels like it could be chaotic. It feels like we almost need to reframe the way of working and get to some principles of how to work together in this new world.’ There was more time spent speculating than being productive.
The IT department had sent out some new ground rules for working, but the technology and the newness of them fuelled the chatter. Time to learn more about the support the team would be getting.
Anna has very little experience in leading remotely; she can do it, but she needs to pay attention to the different style she will need to adopt. Having to learn more about how to lead in a virtual world means she needs to pay more attention to how she is leading as well as what she is leading. Anna will need to trust people and people in the team will need to earn trust from her and with each other. They all have to learn about trust when they can no longer rely on being face to face in interactions.
Team members need to learn to work remotely. This will involve how to communicate. They will need to engage and learn the digital tools that will help them be successful. Anna will need to manage upwards to her boss Stephen, thinking carefully about how she keeps him updated and, therefore, increasing her own levels of trust with him.
What learnings are needed for you and your stakeholders? Capture your observations below.
This is what I need to learn about:
This is what my stakeholders need to learn about:
Roadmap step 6: the Game Plan
What needs doing?
Who will do it?
When will it be done?
Any effective change strategy and process starts by answering the question why. Why is the change happening and what will it lead to? Once you have identified that you need a strategy for change, just like you need strategies in other areas of the business, this Road Map with its Game Plan becomes your strategy. Start with why and keep coming back to that why constantly, make the links and connections to the bigger reason why.
There are a multitude of change leadership and management solutions. We focus here on some of the ones we have seen have the biggest impact on change buy-in. Reflect on these factors to identify the areas that would be relevant for you to focus on in your Game Plan.
1. As a leader, how are you adding value?
The more senior you are, the fewer answers you should have to have and the more questions you should be creating. This is one important way of adding value through change. The more you ask others questions, you get them to learn, grow and develop by finding the answers themselves. If leaders do this, then they are adding true value as a leader. You need to ask yourself ‘How am I adding value as a leader/senior leader here?’
Some professions – news reporters, coaches, police investigators and lawyers – are trained to ask questions. Leaders, in particular, can benefit from becoming an expert at asking questions without it sounding like an interrogation. Skilful use of questions is an interaction, where the other party is invited in to engage in fluid conversation.
Some tips on effective questioning include the following:
- Be a good listener, if you don’t ask you don’t get, so make sure you ask questions.
- Asking more questions makes you a better questioner.
- When you are sitting listening to someone with your answer running, thinking ‘this is what I want to say next’ – stop yourself and think – ‘What is the best question I could ask here to help this person get the answer’? This unlocks the other person’s own learning and it improves the personal bond you have with them too.
- Use some follow up questions like:- ‘what other suggestions do you have’ and ‘Explain more about…’ Know when to use open ended questions and when to use closed ones
- Ask them with the right tonation. ‘How did that happen’? can be said in so many ways with the emphasis on different words, it changes the meaning of the question.
- How did that happen?
- How did that happen?
- How did that happen?
2. The emotional aspect of change
Leaders need to carefully manage the change process with their team, to minimise the impact of distraction and worry, and to keep the team successful. Here are some things you can do when dealing with the emotional aspects of change:
- Discuss what is going on, and get fears and worries out into the open. One of the main reasons people resist or fear change is that they do not think/feel that anyone is aware of, or understands, their concerns. Once they know they are seen and heard, it becomes easier to move on – and to start finding constructive solutions. Make sure you have ongoing conversations with people – ask ‘How are things going? How are you feeling? What can we do about it?’
- Focus people’s attention onto possibilities and opportunities of the change; the challenges and the future.
- Avoid blame (it is never constructive and only drives defensive behaviour, which is detrimental to collaboration and teamwork).
- Quickly find practical solutions to get the team focused on tangible actions and behaviours that can drive results and show progress of the change.
3. Use the positive change influencers
What could go right? There is never just one way of looking at a situation. You probably know people who have expressed that some of the best things that have happened to them have come as a result of (unwanted) change.
Help your team to reframe a situation by exploring what it could bring from an optimistic standpoint. Ask team members to share the moments when they have experienced a good result during a time of uncertainty. Use a crisis to pull the team together. In addition to that, consider communicating what will not change. A 2018 study31 shows that people embrace change more when they do not feel like the organisational identity is under threat, as they can see what is not changing.
4. Do not waste time in the ‘uncertainty void’
Show that it is OK to make mistakes. Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn (from what went wrong). Use the disruption as a way for the team and its members to develop.
Remind the team of their purpose and how important their role is within the organisation. Stay focused on that purpose and get on with the task at hand. It is easy to slow down when faced with uncertainty. Keep the team moving forward. Adjust goals, plans and tasks, if needed, making sure the team keeps progressing.
5. Slow down to speed up the change
Leaders can sometimes operate at such a speed that they are too far ahead of the rest of the team. Stop and reflect to ensure you are prioritising the changes, doing the right thing at the right time.
6. No one has all the answers
In change it is more important than ever to work closely together. Encourage people to ask for help and for other’s input. And ask for help yourself, as a leader – do not feel you have to have all the answers – no one can, it is as simple as that.
7. Hold regular change meetings
This may seem obvious, but you would be surprised how often this is overlooked. Have regular quick check-ins – face-to-face, on video call or phone. Make people feel that they are not alone, that you support each other. Have fun together and make time for laughter and casual conversations. Focus on the how, not just the what. Uncertainty and turbulence create questions. What will this mean for us? How will we resolve this? How will I be affected? Make sure you create frequent opportunities to talk as a team, so you understand concerns and hopes – and, where possible, provide answers.
Anna knew from experience that team decisions would be helpful for her. Allowing the team to get involved and search for solutions together had always proved successful so she would do that again. Calling meetings to talk about this may feel like it is taking more time than necessary but, if she had not got people on board now, then she would have to go back and rework it all again, so this investment of time and energy was the right thing to do. She needed to get this into a plan as a draft to discuss with them. Saying it was a draft and not an ‘absolute’ was what she would do next. They could shape it together. Then she could involve Stephen and her peers.
Anna decides to get some change meetings into the agenda. In the next nine months these will have to be regular. She will do this as a mixture of virtual meetings via voice and video call, as well as some meetings in person. That way, she can get the team actually starting to experience the new way of working. Anna is going to build in some ‘stop and reflect’ time to force herself to ensure she is not moving faster than the team and is therefore bringing people with her rather than being too far ahead. It is her job to lead this team through the change process and that means she needs to add value to the team. She knows she does not have all the answers and that, together, the team can find the solutions on how they can make this work. Anna has people in the team who are positive change agents and she will ensure they are engaged in meetings and actions to bring others through the change curve.
Complete your Game Plan below.
| What to do | How to do it | Who will do it | When will it get done | What impact will this have on collaboration? |
Roadmap step 7: how do you need to behave?
How do you need to behave? How will those behaviours make others feel so that they want to engage with, buy into and help drive change more?
Here are a few factors to consider.
It starts with you. What are you role modelling?
The solutions you have identified in your Game Plan work best when carried out with supporting ‘how to’ behaviours. The actions on their own will take you so far. With the right behaviours, you walk the talk and your change-driving impact is greater.
Behaviours are the differentiating factor in change. They are the magic key to whether the change happens or not. So many times, people focus on all the tasks and action plans but, if you want to make real change happen, then this is the differentiating factor.
Here are some change-driving behaviours to consider to create change leadership:
- Be proactive
- Be reflective
- Demonstrate responsibility
- Be positive
- Show empathy
- Be considerate
- Be trustworthy
- Be sensible
- Do not be afraid to be courageous
- Be open minded
- Demonstrate belief in the change
- Most importantly, stop and celebrate the success you have created
Anna is feeling excited by the changes, but is aware that her excitement is dwindling due to her team’s not so positive reactions to the new way of working. Anna has to keep up her enthusiasm; she is a positive person and wants to use that strength. She wants to find optimism within herself, while being realistic, to allow her to help others to see the way through these changes. Her stress levels are showing and she does not like that; she does not want to show that to the team.
Anna is emotionally intelligent so is aware of how this is affecting and impacting her team. She is being more critical of them and is short and curt in her conversations, not giving much time to their concerns. Anna knows she has to take a look in the mirror and see what she is portraying to others. As a leader, she needs to demonstrate the right behaviours right now. Time to think about what she is role modelling and take control.
Many leaders think they can run ahead with the change and that people will just have to ‘keep up’ and ‘get on with it’. Rarely does that strategy work. It does have an effect, but it takes longer. Even if leaders feel like they are moving fast, they are not. You have to take care of the human aspects of change and not underestimate its importance. The worst situation to have in times of change are those people who choose to opt out of the change but stay in the organisation. Opting out means they are there in body but not in soul. Leaders have a responsibility to deal with that for all stakeholders concerned as this can be a blocker to change.
Anna needs to continue to be positive, keep her enthusiasm and be realistic about the change, demonstrate she believes in the change, and not allow that negativity to stop her from what she believes is good change for the sake of the business. Anna has to talk about the bigger picture and, once again, state why this is happening, remembering all the great reasons for the change. Anna wants to remember where everyone is on the change curve; clearly they are not all in the same place as her.
So, how do you choose to behave to drive change?
Roadmap step 8: acknowledge obstacles
What obstacles are there? Or could there be? How can they be overcome?
Common obstacles to effective change are:
- Not knowing the bigger picture ‘why’
- Not understanding the WIIFM (what’s in it for me?)
- Being stuck in the emotions and how the change feels
- Sticking with what we already know and so blocking the change
- No consequences for the change, not moving forward, not seeing the benefit of the change
- Not seeing how it all links together, nor the connections from the change to me
- People who opt out of the change but stay in the organisation spread the inertia
- Not really understanding the urgency for change
Anna had built such a strong team and was now concerned that they could not function in the new way. She had put so much emphasis on how they should work closely together. Now the new offices meant they could choose to work remotely as long as they produced the expected output. It was different for the team and Anna felt this camaraderie and teamwork was now an obstacle. Everyone had seen the benefits of sharing information and they had been pretty creative together, even winning an award as a team for it. Time was always an issue and, yet again, it felt like they just did not have time for this change.
Anna was going to have to use this strong team ethic to her advantage. While reviewing the obstacles, she decided to ask the team to think about what they had learned from working well together and recreate it with the new virtual world in mind. Anna was always busy and was sometimes given feedback to say she would rush through things just to ‘get them done’ to the detriment of relationships. She knew that this obstacle had to change as she was now more senior, so she wanted to pay attention to her reputation and impact. Ticking-the-box exercises like this were making her look more junior as a leader. A senior leader should have more strategic impact than that.
What obstacles do you see that need overcoming – for you, the team(s), the organisation?
Roadmap step 9: communicate, communicate, communicate
What will you communicate? Who, when, how, to whom? How do you need to be and behave in your communication?
Decide what to share and what not to share. Honesty is one thing, sharing every single thought and fear would be counterproductive.
Choose your response.
During change, people tend to focus on the stories and the ‘grapevine’, which can distract from getting the job done. Human nature means people start to talk about what might happen rather than the reality. Leaders need to work hard at keeping people informed and communicating whatever they can. They also need to engage people, give them whatever direction they can and a future focus. This keeps people motivated and productive through uncertain times. Communicate more not less. People want to feel valued and to understand what is happening while having as much communication as possible. Getting people together and discussing what is happening and how people feel is critical to ride the wave of change. Otherwise people feel they are lost and do not know which way to go.
Follow these four principles of dealing with questions transparently:
- Try to answer the question.
- If you do not know an answer, say so.
- If you cannot answer the question now, make a commitment for when you will and honour it.
- If you know the answer but cannot say currently, say so and make a commitment to share information when you can.
Recognise that you are not at the same stage as others in relation to the change; sometimes as a leader you are one, two or three steps ahead of your team. Demonstrate empathy. Putting yourself into others’ shoes forces you to acknowledge where they are.
When thinking about communication for a specific outcome, there are often two aspects of two-way communication that need particular attention.
The first one is framing – how will you frame the message overall, particularly when you first share it? Framing is very much about how you communicate, the words you use, the stories you tell, the way you help people see the importance in what you are saying. It is about communicating a message in such a way that you influence people to listen to you. How are you building in a feedback loop so you can get immediate input from those involved?
The second one is the structure and determination of ongoing progress and results communication needed to keep people motivated and help them see the progress made. This would, typically, involve frequency, method, channel and feedback loop.
In order to fill in the gaps in communication that otherwise people will fill in themselves, you have to communicate, communicate, communicate. Do not be fearful of stating the obvious. Just because it is obvious to you, it may not be obvious to others. Do not make the assumption that people already know. How can they? People always want the context.
Anna knows that she needs to build a communication map and clearly think about who she should communicate with at each point along the path. Anna chooses to be more strategic about her communication. She prepares a communication strategy for the change and a communication plan. It is becoming clear to her that it has to happen sooner rather than later. She has a lot of stakeholders involved now and taking it by chance is not an option.
Anna identifies the following key messages that her various stakeholders will benefit from hearing and being reminded of.
Her team:
- We are all in this together and we will create a plan together. You will have input and I will lead you through the changes.
- I will constantly explain and link to the bigger picture.
- I will support you and want to add value to this.
Her boss:
- Let me keep you informed. This is where I am, this is the progress we have made, this is what is next.
- This is where I need your support.
- My team needs your support.
- This is where I can support you.
IT department:
- This is how we will feed back our user experience to you.
- This is what you could do to support us in this change.
- This is how we can support you in this change.
What do you want your stakeholders to hear? Fill in the speech bubbles below.
Roadmap step 10: challenge the Roadmap
Challenge your draft Impact Roadmap – how could you think of all of this differently?
OK, let us question everything one more time. What if there was another way to achieve this change-driving outcome? Review what you have reflected on so far and ask yourself – how could I think of all this differently? Could there be a completely different approach to engage people in change and drive change effectively?
Or are there any additional ideas that you want to add to your plan so far?
Roadmap step 11: measure the success
How are you going to measure your change-driving outcome? How will you know if you have achieved the kind of change buy-in and progress you were aiming for? How will you ensure you follow through and follow up on your way to achieving the outcome? And how will you celebrate the success?
Anna is having a review with the team every two weeks. At this review session, they will specifically talk about what is going well, asking each team member, ‘What do we need to celebrate personally and as a team?’ This will ensure people are celebrating as they go along rather than just at the end when the change is implemented.
Anna knows that the team will deliver on the change. Together, they will agree, ‘how we will know when we have been successful’. A team meeting together in person, which will be a rare occurrence, will be the reward in itself!
To celebrate successes is always important, but particularly so when facing turbulence. That is when the pat on the back and sense of achievement can really make a difference. Celebrate the milestones and encourage continued effort. Be proud of your team – and show it.
How will you make sure you follow through and measure and celebrate success?
This is how I will follow through and follow up:
This is how I will measure success:
This is how I will celebrate success:
THE EFFECT ON CULTURE
Transformational, lasting change happens at a behavioural level. Change and handling change is happening in every organisation around the world, no matter how big or small. You already have a culture, a way of dealing with change. Whether you pay attention to it or not, it is there.
If you want to create a culture of change, then you have to work out how you handle change as a leader, how that ripples to your team and peers and, through them, the rest of the organisation. Change is a reality in all workplaces, but it is not always done well. When you are able to help people embrace the change and engage with it, it becomes a natural part of how the organisation operates through successful change.
Now that you have worked your way through how you will lead to achieve change-driving impact, you may also want to transfer your notes and create a complete plan by filling in the Impact Roadmap Worksheet at the back of the book or by downloading it from www.2020visionleader.com/ImpactRoadmap.
