Based on an article by Bob Kantor, IT Leadership CoachImagine that you are in a leadership position within a company. Whether it is a textile manufacturing business or a web design company is irrelevant. Imagine that you are also the owner. You are about to introduce a change that affects everyone in the organisation. This change is for the better. It will transform the way people work, the relationships within the company, the quality of the product and, most importantly, it will move the business forward into new markets.
The decision has been made. The consultants and your leadership team have developed a strategy. What remains is the most important part: bringing everyone on board with the cause. This is where the most critical phase begins: establishing the new culture that lies at the core of the change.
When we want to implement a change, we usually explain what will be done and how it will be done. The formal set of elements – when, what, who and how – is no longer sufficient.
We often fail to clarify the answer to the question of Why the change needs to happen. The reason is that this sits more in the emotional sphere. Most decisions people make are influenced by emotion. That is why we should not leave out the discussion of WHY. It complements the What and the How in an excellent way.
In addition to communicating WHY we are making the change, it is essential to understand how that message has been understood.
Why is this Why so important? When management decides to introduce a change and explains what, how and why, the people around them usually divide into two groups.
The first group knows that a change has to happen – they feel like victims who will have to put in extra effort because of management’s whims. This leads them to do the work formally, without investing more than the bare minimum. The second group are those who have grasped the essence of the change. They want it, and they understand that it is necessary in order to move forward and grow.
A common mistake is that leaders explain why the change is necessary for them or for the organisation. What they overlook is the need to explain WHY this change matters to the team. Or, as Bob Kantor puts it, WIIFM – what’s in it for me?
Repeat the change message multiple times. While you may have been thinking about the change for several months, the people around you are hearing about it for the first time.
Even if you do not yet have the answers to every question – say what you do know. Then build on it.
Do not ask questions such as „Did you understand THIS?“ Ask questions such as „What do you think about THIS?“
Make sure that everyone in the organisation is fully aligned with the change. It is important that a director, department head or team lead is able to respond appropriately when asked a question by a member of their team.
Based on an article by Bob Kantor, IT Leadership Coach