Cringe factors
March 11, 2010
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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?
Monitor Your Organization’s “Non-Verbal” Communication
February 23, 2010
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.
Ten Essential Tools for Change Agents
February 2, 2010
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
Word mavens and time keepers
December 30, 2009
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?
Four Reasons NOT to Conduct an Employee Survey
September 22, 2009
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
Pinpoint Communication Clinic
August 27, 2009
to implement organizational change:
Do you feel like your change communication is:
| Inconsistent? | |||||
| Overwhelming? | Not Being Heard? | ||||
| Not Enough? | |||||
| Off Target? | |||||
| Not Even Started? |
The Pinpoint Communication Clinic will show you how to organize the multiple facets of organizational communication so you can get your message to the people who need to hear it.
Join the authors of the Pinpoint Communication Workbook for a series of 2 online sessions where you will:
- Learn how to avoid pitfalls when communicating for change.
- Review a straightforward step-by-step process for aligning the audience, the message and the means of communication.
- Take home a workbook and templates to organize and develop your own communication plan.
- Try it out for yourself and then regroup a month later with colleagues to share experiences and ask the experts.
Schedule:
Learn the step-by-step process for developing your communication plan.
Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Time: 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern
Homework
Complete the Pinpoint Communication templates for your change initiative.
Clinic 2
Share experiences with colleagues, and ask the experts for advice on how to move forward.
Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Time: 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern
Clinic Pricing:
The investment for the 2-session clinic is $149 per person, which also includes the Pinpoint Communication Workbook and companion PowerPoint templates.
Early Bird Special:
Attendees who register by Friday, September 4, 2009 pay $119 per person.
Previous webinar attendees on the Pinpoint Communication process said:
“The communication model presented was simple and it was presented clearly.”
“Generally helpful info and the workbook and slides made it VERY easy to follow the presentation and see how it could be applied.”
“[The speakers] had very rich information. Clearly they understood the topic.”
How to get Beyond Leadership Buy-in
August 4, 2009
It almost goes without saying that an organizational change initiative without proper levels of leadership support is doomed to fail. Perhaps the project will be paid lip service, but it will ultimately either be ignored into oblivion or cut short of its potential with one drop of the axe.
Not only do organizational leaders have the power to make or break your project on their own, but it is impossible to bypass them to change the organization below. Individuals experiencing change will look to those in power for confirmation that they are committed to the new way of doing things. It is under intense scrutiny that leaders are watched to see if their actions match their intentions. If not, the change initiative will be dismissed as “flavor of the month” and not taken seriously.
Amid all this doom and gloom, there is a bright side. You don’t have to settle for the level of leadership support you currently have. As fellow human beings, leaders are capable of being informed and influenced.
Take the following steps to determine how to best garner the support of the most influential people in your organization. Read more
Avoid Scattershot Change: Plan Communication
July 14, 2009
No change initiative can occur successfully without proper organizational communication. When communicating for change, messages are conveyed to audiences with the purposes of keeping people informed and mobilizing the organization. Communication is the means to gain attention, educate, and get individuals and groups to take action to move the change initiative forward.
As an internal change advocate for your organization, communication is one of the main tools you use to reach your goal and desired outcome. Yet, we frequently see people who are responsible for implementing change who use communication in a haphazard fashion, without a solid plan. The resulting hodgepodge of newsletters, posters and meetings tells a less-than-compelling story of change. Read more
NEW! Pinpoint Communication Workbook
June 11, 2009
I’m excited to offer a new workbook in my series of step-by-step organizational change guides. I collaborated with my friend and colleague Monica Nakielski of Harmeda LLC to bring you:
Pinpoint Communication: Plan to Avoid Scattershot Change
Communication is one of the primary tools you will use to bring about change in your organization, and yet we frequently see communication used in a haphazard fashion. The resulting hodgepodge of posters, newsletters and meetings yield a less-than-compelling story of change.
The workbook walks you though 5 Steps that build on each other. By the end, you will have developed a complete communication plan, including a schedule and measures of success.
The Pinpoint Communication Kit includes not only the workbook, but also high-quality, presentation-ready MS PowerPoint templates. Just complete the template with the information you developed in the workbook, and you’re ready to share with your organization.
This practical guide is truly something I wish I had back when I was an internal change agent. I would have been much more organized and deliberate about how I used communication. I’m excited that it might help you be more effective as you implement change in your organization.
For more information, a preview, and to purchase the workbook, templates or kit, visit www.enclaria.com/communication/.
Spring forward: simple change is not easy
March 8, 2009
As we participate in the annual ritual of moving our clocks ahead one hour for daylight savings time, I’m reminded that even simple change is not so easy. A few observations:
Change itself is less complicated than the tasks required to align people to it. Time itself (or at least as we measure it) changed once. But in my house, that required adjusting four analog clocks, four digital clocks, three watches and two car radios.
Change results in a temporary efficiency loss. The parking lot at church was a little thin today, and I bet morning traffic will be lighter than usual at times when it was previously light. People are sluggish as they acclimate to waking earlier. No matter how well planned, anticipated or small, change requires an adjustment period.
People change on their own schedule. Although the time change is instantaneous, people will make the change when it is most convenient for them. I don’t know anyone who would set an alarm for 2:00 a.m. so they can wake up and move their clocks forward. Some people set their clocks before they go to bed, and others complete the task in the morning. My husband changed his watch on Saturday morning because he had to wake up early on Sunday morning, and wanted to have more time to adjust.
Not everyone receives the message, remembers it or understands it. Some people will show up late to work on Monday morning, having spent all day Sunday thinking it was the wrong time. Either they didn’t hear about it, heard it but forgot about it, or rearranged the slogan “Spring forward, fall back.”
Even after hearing the benefits and seeing that everyone else is on board, some people will still choose not to participate. Most of the State of Indiana stays on Eastern Standard Time year-round, preferring to change their time zone instead of their clocks. During Daylight Savings Time, they are on Central time.
Inquiry: How is your organizational change more complicated than it seems?
Feel free to chime in by adding a comment below.
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