This year has forced some changes. Change can be good if you get in front of change and lead the change. There are basically three ways to react to change, be excited and look for the opportunity, just accept it and go with it, or resist. I would encourage you as business leader to look for the opportunity.
Now the question remains, “How do I communicate the changes to my team members and also my strategic partners and how do I get their buy in?” Here is a plan. First, use the group that is excited about change to be your promoters and your trainers. Second plan on selling the benefits to the neutral members. Lastly, for the resisters, you will need to make them feel more comfortable to the extent that you can.
Often business leaders genuinely believe they are communicating with others when it comes to matters that affect them. Unfortunately, they often underestimate the number of matters that includes.
Start by putting yourself in the shoes of each of those three groups of people. Think to yourself, “If I were hearing this information what I would be worried about right now in the current situation?” If you were that person what would be important for you to know? What is the worst thing that could happen, and would you want to know about it in advance? How would you want to be told?
How would you be answering these questions? You can’t answer the questions without the input from your staff—the people affected by the changes. Depending on how much you can discuss, or how much is already known, you might ask a few individuals what the grapevine is saying, and what people are worrying and wondering about.
Now, armed with this information, draft the answers to the questions. Of course, they must be truthful answers, for insincerity is easily recognized and will deal a deathblow to your communication efforts. Then they must be couched in terms that are clear and uncompromising, but also considerate and compassionate. It's worth spending some time on this part. Lack of commitment to your message is also easily read and will automatically raise the cynicism level among others.
You should carefully consider the media used to communicate your message. The way a person receives news can dramatically affect how he or she feels about it, so you need to choose the medium very carefully. E-mail can be perceived as cold and unfeeling in many cases, although it is useful for routine updates that don't have emotional overtones. Some messages are better spoken, either by managers to their groups or by the CEO to the whole organization.
If the messengers don't have highly developed communication skills, it's worth engaging services of people can coach them in the tools of two-way communication. The message must remain honest, clear, and compassionate.
And above all, follow through on your commitments and promises. Sincere, caring, ongoing communication can form the basis for building the engagement of everyone when the present time of turmoil ends. For a similar post on our web site see HOW ARE YOU GETTING BUY IN FOR CHANGE?
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