99 Ways to Influence Change, #98: Communicate

September 29, 2010 By Heather Stagl Leave a Comment

No change initiative can occur successfully without proper internal communication. Messages are conveyed to audiences with the purposes of keeping the people informed and mobilizing the organization for change. Communication is a means to gain attention, educate, and get individuals and groups to take action to move the change initiative forward.

When it comes to communication about change, you often hear things like “You can’t over-communicate!” or “Communicate seven times, seven different ways!” It seems like you should unleash a veritable tidal wave of information at people. Instead, I offer that you want to create a focused collection of messages that tell a compelling story of change. You need a communication plan that:

Gets the appropriate message to the right person so they do something with it
Ensures consistency between media and messengers
Overcomes the rapidly increasing amount of information that distracts employees from your message
Communicates enough, in quantity and content, to impart the message effectively.

We often think of internal communication as official items like newsletters, intranet, videos, or all-hands meetings. But, it also includes more informal meetings and conversations. The most influential internal communication source is the immediate boss of each person.

What might you communicate?

Read more of the 99 Ways to Influence Change.

Filed Under: Influence Tagged With: 99 Ways, communication, influence

A Declaration of Independence from the present

July 4, 2010 By Heather Stagl Leave a Comment

Have you ever read the Declaration of Independence? It is as much an official document to the King of England as it is a case for change to the rest of the fledgling country it created. (Click the image to the right to read the full text.)

It’s a great model and anyone who would like to compel people to break away from the current state of things. Here are the key parts of the document:

Connection to values

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Acknowledgment that the status quo is easier

“Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.”

Reasons why the current state can’t be tolerated any further

“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

The bulk of the document lists a number of egregious offenses by the King, that anyone who valued freedom would find appalling.

Recognition that what we’re doing isn’t working

“In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury.”

Clear vision of the future

“We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.”

Statement of leadership resolve

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

If your organization wrote a Declaration of Independence from the present, what would it say?

Filed Under: Organizational Change Tagged With: commitment, communication, status quo, vision

Radio Show: Monitor Your Organization’s “Non-Verbal” Communication

April 13, 2010 By Heather Stagl Leave a Comment

This morning on The Change Agent’s Dilemma radio show, I talked about how most of your organization’s communication does not happen through official communication channels. Based on the popular article by the same name, today’s show includes additional examples of “non-verbal” communication gone awry.

If you want to know why your internal change communication doesn’t seem to be landing, listen to this show!

Listen here (30 minutes):

Be sure to visit the radio show page to listen to past episodes and subscribe to the show.

Filed Under: Organizational Change Tagged With: accountability, communication, incentives

Interview: Employee Feedback with The Suggestion Guru

March 30, 2010 By Heather Stagl Leave a Comment

This morning on The Change Agent’s Dilemma radio show, I interviewed Lara Fordis of Suggestion Guru about employee feedback, especially going beyond the traditional employee survey. If you’ve been wondering how to get better feedback about your organization, your change initiative or even about yourself, you’ll want to listen to today’s show.

Lara shared a number of feedback methods and tools she has used in organizations to improve communication and engagement. She talked about the factors to consider when selecting a feedback method and also shared common mistakes you will want to avoid when implementing employee feedback.

As a special hand-out for Enclaria listeners, Lara provided this 1-page Feedback Favorites summary (PDF).

Listen here (30 minutes):

Be sure to visit the radio show page to listen to past episodes and subscribe to the show.

Filed Under: Organizational Change Tagged With: communication, employee engagement, feedback

Cringe factors

March 11, 2010 By Heather Stagl 1 Comment

My husband is the audio director for North Point Community Church, an admitted “megachurch” designed so that people who don’t normally go to church can go there and feel comfortable. The staff there goes to great lengths to avoid what they call “cringe factors.”

I don’t think there is an official definition for cringe factor; it’s something that you know when you see it… or really when you feel it. You feel a cringe factor in your face when you flinch from what you’ve just heard. Your shoulders might tense and you might even feel sick to your stomach a little bit. You might even throw your hands in front of your face in an attempt to block the offending message. If you haven’t already while reading this, take a second to cringe and see what it feels like.

The church, of course, wants to avoid this feeling in its target demographic, people who might be looking for a reason not to come back next Sunday. And you want to avoid this feeling in your organization toward your change initiative.

In my experience, the most prominent category of cringe factors in organizations is terminology. For example, I’ve worked with a number of people who implemented Balanced Scorecards without calling them Balanced Scorecards. They deliberately selected another name because there was either a bad connotation from a previous bad experience or the term was considered to be too high on the jargon list. Other cringe factors include the incentive program that doesn’t quite align with people’s motivation, or a leader saying something that seems hypocritical.

Pay attention to the things that make you cringe as you design a new program or listen to leaders talk about your change initiative. Recruit other people in the organization to tell you about cringe factors that they experience. Then, see what you can do to avoid them. The last thing you want is for people in the organization to have an automatic negative visceral reaction to your change initiative!

What might be your cringe factors?

Filed Under: Organizational Change Tagged With: communication

Monitor Your Organization’s “Non-Verbal” Communication

February 23, 2010 By Heather Stagl Leave a Comment

It is widely cited that verbal communication makes up only 7% of a total message during a conversation. That is, 93% percent of the meaning within the conversation comes from outside the words that we use. These non-verbal aspects of communication include gestures, posture, intonation, and facial expressions. It turns out the concrete language is by far the least important factor in our interpretation and understanding of what the other person saying.

A similar phenomenon happens in organizations. Consider that the equivalent to verbal communication in organizations are the formal words that come to employees in the form of official documents: values and mission statements, strategy, policies, newsletters, websites, announcements, press releases, and other communication devices. The rest of internal communication comes from everything else employees experience. Similar to a conversation, the vast majority of meaning and understanding is generated by “non-verbal” communication.

The following are examples of “non-verbal” communication in organizations that speak louder than words:

Accountability

Employees assess which policies count and which ones are merely guidelines based on how consistently they are enforced. Processes and procedures are generally followed to the extent that they are required.

“Everyone must contact the IT helpdesk to resolve computer issues”
(unless you know who to call to avoid waiting).

Rewards

Rewards in all their forms tell employees how to be successful. Traditional incentive programs signal expectations but may conflict with stated values or even inadvertently motivate a different behavior than what is desired. Furthermore, who gets promoted and what behaviors elicit praise send powerful messages about what is expected.

“Safety first!”
(Here’s your efficiency bonus.)

Decisions

How managers spend resources speaks volumes about what they truly value and prioritize. The decisions they make about how to allocate funds and how they spend their own time demonstrates what they believe will lead to success.

“Strategic initiatives are important”
(until we need to cut something out of the budget).

Management behavior

More than anything, employees look at the behavior modeled by management to see if it matches what is officially communicated. The most influential person in this regard is an employee’s own boss. The attitudes and behaviors displayed by people in authority tell the real story of what is expected.

“We value employees’ ideas”
(but not the terrible one you just shared).

Employees will rely on “non-verbal” communication to understand what is expected and to decide appropriate action in the midst of uncertainty. When introduced to news of change, many employees will take the stance, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” It is not enough for them to hear it or read it. It is imperative to monitor your organization’s “non-verbal” communication to ensure that actions and behaviors are consistent with your official change message.

Filed Under: Organizational Change Tagged With: accountability, alignment, communication, incentives

Ten Essential Tools for Change Agents

February 2, 2010 By Heather Stagl 1 Comment

Change agents are individuals within organizations who influence change without having direct authority over people who are going through the change. The following are ten things that effective change agents use to influence change in their organizations. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Change Agents Tagged With: accountability, change, change agent, communication, incentives, leadership, list, meetings, methodology, power, roles

Word mavens and time keepers

December 30, 2009 By Heather Stagl 1 Comment

So here we are. With much fanfare and hopeful anticipation we begin a new decade. Everyone has made their Top 100 lists for the last 10 years. At last, the still nameless decade is finally over, right?

Well, technically no. The word mavens and official time keepers (whoever they are) will tell you that the decade does not officially begin until 2011. 2010 is the last year of the 00′s. Just like the first year of the millennium was 2001, not 2000.

It’s these same word mavens that maintain that everyone else improperly uses the words “ironic” and “moot.”

Which is entirely my point. If everyone ascribes new meaning to a word, then effectively, that word holds that meaning, regardless of whether it is in the dictionary. We are choosing to end the decade now, whether or not the people who count time agree.

This phenomenon is something to keep in mind when you are selecting language to communicate your change initiative. Just because you decide on words and their meaning doesn’t mean everyone else will choose to use the same words, or give them the same meaning.

Once I was facilitating an executive team on creating a strategy map (a la Balanced Scorecard). Technically, the oblong bubbles on the map are called objectives, but the team started calling them “footballs” due to their shape. “Footballs” does not mean much in the context of strategy, but for some reason it stuck.

When the organization starts using your language improperly or choosing their own words to help them assimilate what it going on, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. After all, it’s better than ignoring it altogether. However, you will have to decide whether the official language is worth fighting for – or whether you can adopt their words as the new official ones.

What language has your team or organization distorted from the original meaning? What is the effect on your initiative?

Filed Under: Organizational Change Tagged With: communication, definition

Four Reasons NOT to Conduct an Employee Survey

September 22, 2009 By Heather Stagl 2 Comments

Employee surveys are useful tools for understanding the beliefs, attitudes and opinions of an organization as a whole. Surveys are commonly used in pursuit of change to discover and understand organizational culture, resistance, morale, and a host of other characteristics that can shine the light on opportunities for improvement.

However, not all surveys will improve the situation. The following are four warning signs that conducting a survey may do more harm than good. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Organizational Change Tagged With: communication, employee survey