The Five C’s of Change: Communication
Loriana Sekarski
Loriana Sekarski is the founder and president of BONSAI, a consulting company that transforms leaders (and businesses) into the best version of themselves. Outside of BONSAI, Loriana serves as an adjunct professor at Washington University's graduate student program. Additionally, she's fine-tuning her passion project, TakeFlight, a program that addresses domestic abuse within the Christian community.
This is the third post in our series on the Five C’s of Change, which includes four friends and one foe of change. In the previous installments, we explored Conviction and Courage.
Understand the Current State of Communication
Communication is an action that appears so simple and obvious, yet it’s almost always what employees and leaders alike most identify as missing or insufficient in organizational assessments. Early in the pandemic, communication seemed to improve dramatically as leaders were keenly aware more interaction was needed when working virtually. Most of our clients increased the frequency of one-on-one touchpoints and both sides said that although these additional meetings took more time, people felt more connected than ever before.
It seems, however, that once people got comfortable with a new way of operating, the pendulum started swinging back the other way. As the workload increased and staffing shortages ensued, the time spent on communication slowly dwindled. Many leaders assumed people had the information they needed, so leaders shifted their focus to other things and those one-on-one touchpoints tapered off in frequency.
While in many organizations the pendulum of communication is back to where it was before the pandemic, it doesn’t have to stay there. By understanding the role of communication in meeting the needs of followers and taking specific actions, change champions can improve communication throughout their organization.
Focus on Two Purposes of Communication
As we lead organizational change, communication is paramount for success and must satisfy
- The needs of the organization
- The needs of the followers
Which do you tend to focus on? Usually, leaders are most concerned about what they want employees/volunteers to do or think to help the organization thrive (or survive in some instances).
I want to turn our attention to the needs of the followers because that is often overlooked. Once those needs are met, people are more receptive to hearing and meeting the organization’s needs.
Meet the Needs of the Followers
Gallup has found that engaged employees share four basic needs that are being met by the organization. Specifically, how well are you:
- Showing compassion?
- Building trust?
- Creating stability for the present?
- Speaking into hope for their future?
If you mull over these four items and what it takes to achieve each, you will realize this isn’t a list you check off once and you are done. All of these require many conversations over time. It’s like when my dentist said the best way to use an electric toothbrush is to divide my mouth into 4 sections and brush each for some time. I don’t think she intended for me to check the section off never to return!
Conversation is the keyword. These needs aren’t achieved in emails or “talks with the troops.” They require ongoing listening by the leader plus an exchange of ideas, thoughts, and especially feelings. While the head of the organization can and should speak and act in alignment with these elements, each employee’s direct leader needs to focus their conversation on the employee’s needs to be met.
Does it take time? Yes. Is it worth it? If you want 22% higher productivity and lower turnover, yes.
"By consistently communicating in a way that meets their needs, you now have created an opening for them to care more about meeting the needs of the organization."
Action Steps for Better Communication
I find clients appreciate specific action steps when they are uncertain of how to move forward in uncharted territory, so I am including a few suggestions below. Some of these may seem obvious to you but aren’t always obvious to others, so consider sharing them when you see people struggling with a particular area. We are all designed uniquely and will be inclined to do some of these well while others don’t come naturally to us.
To show compassion:
- View the followers as Christ sees them, really seeing them and their concerns and why they might feel that way.
- Routinely ask how they are doing and feeling about the change.
- Even if you don’t agree, show them you hear what they are saying: “That sounds really hard for you.”
- When you text them to check in, make sure you reply to their response.
- Fight the reflex to explain, as it almost always sounds defensive. Save that for another conversation.
To build trust:
- Be authentic and vulnerable.
- Share as much as you can.
- Be truthful. If you can’t share something, just say that.
- Keep things confidential.
- Assume good intent and let them know your intent.
- Align your walk with your talk (and make sure you follow through on commitments).
To create stability:
- Create a line of sight—connecting the importance of what they do to the organization’s mission.
- Be clear when setting expectations, as aiming for a target in the dark feels unstable. Go beyond simply telling them what to do and explain how they will know if they are successful.
- Obtain the resources needed to do the job successfully (e.g., training, software, team members, funding).
- Share with them personal and organizational successes.
- Delegates work so they are using their strengths every day.
To speak into hope:
- Share the vision for the broader organization and your team.
- Connect what they do with the vision—show where you see them and their role contributing long term.
- Point out the progress they are making in their development.
- Praise their accomplishments by being specific and timely with recognition.
- Share how the team contributes to making a meaningful difference for others.
These are just some of the simple actions you can take to meet the needs of your followers when it comes to communication. They will appreciate you for it and will be that much more committed to the organization. By consistently communicating in a way that meets their needs, you now have created an opening for them to care more about meeting the needs of the organization.
Stay tuned for the final friend of change – Consistency.
