[00:00:00] Mel: Hi, and welcome to Less Chatter, More Matter, a podcast about all things communication without the waffle. I'm your host, Mel Loy, and in this show, I will give you short, punchy, practical communication tips and insights. You can start using in your communication practices right away. I'm a former corporate communication executive who happily took a redundancy, started my own business and never looked back.

[00:00:27] Mel: These days I use my 20 plus years of experience to help guide organisations of all shapes and sizes in how to communicate more effectively. I'm wife to Michael, cat mum to Cookie, aunty to 12 nieces and nephews, a yoga teacher, and a group fitness fanatic. I promise these episodes will always be short, sharp, and helpful, so let's get amongst it.

[00:00:52] Hi friends, and welcome to another episode of Less Chatter, More Matter, the communications podcast. If you are a regular listener, [00:01:00] thank you for tuning in again, and if you're here for the first time, welcome!

[00:01:04] Before we get into today's episode, I wanted to say a big to BIG thank you to everyone who has ordered a copy of my book so far and sent me little messages of support or videos of you unboxing them or the photos of the, of the book arriving, or you let me know what you've learned from it. It is really, really awesome to know it's being considered as a valuable resource because that's exactly what I wrote it for.

[00:01:29] I'll also say it is a huge effort to write a book, not just for me as the writer and the illustrator, but there's a whole raft of other people involved as well. So there's early readers, layout specialists, editors, and designers. So a massive shout out to those of you who have helped to bring this book to life.

[00:01:48] Now, if you haven't yet check out the book via the link in the show notes, because I've got some special deals going right now to celebrate the launch. And you do not want to miss out on those. I promise you. Okay. So onto today's [00:02:00] episode, which is actually linked to the book because it's all about the role of leaders in communicating change.

[00:02:06] And we'll take a step back here a little because I do think it's important to reiterate the five elements of change management to set the scene first. So those five elements are number one, leadership, number two, stakeholder engagement, number three, governance, number four, learning and development or training, and number five, communication.

[00:02:26] Now, communication itself does not make change happen. We've talked about that a lot on this show. It is super important. Don't get me wrong, but I would argue that leadership is even more important. So, We could write the most amazing change comms that have ever been written in the history of change comms.

[00:02:45] But if there's no change leadership, it's absolutely wasted. Change leadership involves things like role modeling behaviors, helping to remove roadblocks, gathering feedback, and working with the change team to understand the impacts and so much more. [00:03:00] But it also involves communication, which is what we'll focus on today.

[00:03:03] So let's get into it. The first thing that's important to remember is that leadership communication is super critical to getting your messages heard. Research consistently tells us that team leaders are the most trusted source of information for employees. I mean, think about it yourself. If you're receiving change messages, are you more likely to believe them if they've come from your own direct leader?

[00:03:28] And this is assuming you like your direct leader, rather than the chair of the board, the CEO, or even an intranet article. And I'd wager you would be. Team leaders enjoy, hopefully, a sense of trust with their team members, which is why their communication is so much more powerful than any group wide message from a CEO will ever be.

[00:03:49] A team leader communication during change also has a direct impact on engagement. And again, research this time from Gallup, it found that when leaders are able to communicate what [00:04:00] change means for the future of their organization. Their employees are much more engaged than employees whose leaders haven't articulated that vision for the future.

[00:04:09] In fact, those companies with a clear vision sit at 86 percent engagement versus only 22 percent engagement at those companies where the leaders haven't articulated that vision clearly. But the challenge is that a lot of leadership communication, particularly about change, is not done well. And many times that's not the fault of the leader.

[00:04:32] I've experienced it myself where you're given a promotion or you're thrown into a leadership role unexpectedly, and yet you're expected to magically know how to communicate well with your team during change. But being aware of your current knowledge gaps and limitations is really critical to fixing that.

[00:04:50] And again, research tells us that leaders consistently think they communicate more effectively than their employees think they do. So for example, the [00:05:00] 2023 State of Essential Workplace Communication Report from Axios HQ found that four out of five leaders think they share the context employees need to do their jobs well, but only one in two employees agreed.

[00:05:13] Seven in 10 leaders think employees already have access to the information they need to understand the goals and directives they need to do their jobs effectively, but only five in 10, so only half of employees agree with that statement. And finally, eight in 10 leaders think the communication in their organization is helpful and relevant.

[00:05:33] So almost every leader thinks that. The communication going on is so helpful, so relevant, but again, only about 50 percent of employees agree with that statement. So while leaders jobs in communication are critical, they're not meeting the brief. That's the short story. Which begs the question, how can leaders communicate change more effectively?

[00:05:54] So I'm going to share a few tips for both leaders and for those of you who support them in the communications [00:06:00] process. So whether you're a comms pro or a project manager or even a change manager. So number one of the five tips is get clear on the change. If you as a leader don't understand what the change is and what it means for your team, there is no way your team members will understand it.

[00:06:17] So leaders have a responsibility to seek out the information they need, ask questions of those involved in leading the change, and develop a deep understanding of what it means. Now, if you're on the other side of the fence as a communicator, I highly suggest you hold a few education sessions for leaders from different areas of the business to communicate the change in ways that are very relevant for their particular context.

[00:06:41] This also gives them opportunity to ask questions and also importantly, provide any feedback that may help with change management and the change comms. Now, importantly for both comms pros and leaders, make sure you understand what's not changing and also talk about that [00:07:00] because talking about what's not changing can give people a sense of certainty that while something is changing over in this area of the world, other things remain same and familiar.

[00:07:11] And that sense of certainty helps to alleviate fear. And we want to do that because fear results in poor behavior and poor performance. So that's number one, get clear. Number two is get granular. So the next steps for leaders is then to put the change information into messaging that makes sense for your team.

[00:07:30] So there's a few parts to this. Number one, firstly, be very clear on the why behind the change. People need to know there's a purpose to it, that it's not just happening because the organization thought it was a nice idea or it was fun, right? So what's the why and how can you link that back to the business strategy?

[00:07:47] Secondly, relate the why and the change back to your team. So be really specific here about what the change will mean for the way your team works, its responsibilities, their systems and processes, [00:08:00] what they'll need to learn, and even how they'll interact with other areas of the business.

[00:08:04] And number three, be authentic in telling the story. Use your own words and the language your team will understand. Don't just recite some key messages the mothership sent out to you. Now, bonus tip here for leaders, listen in, co create the understanding of the change with your team so they have a sense of ownership over it. So what I mean by that is, get your team together, explain the why behind the change as well as what's happening and when, but then ask your team questions like, what do you think this means for us?

[00:08:34] How will we make this work in our team? What will we need to do differently? Then they can map out their own path forward, which they'll be more willing to take because they own it. Now, from a comms perspective, you can encourage leaders to do this by providing them with tools like a template they can complete with their team to help them answer those questions and build their own unique understanding of it.

[00:08:57] Okay. Tip number three is own [00:09:00] it. As a leader, you represent the strategic direction of the business. It's not something that's just owned by the C suite - because you contribute to the success of the strategy. You also have a role in owning it and distancing yourself from the change is not going to help anyone, especially yourself.

[00:09:19] So what do I mean by distancing? Well, usually it's statements like, I don't know why they're doing this. Don't ask me. I'm just the messenger. I was told to tell you this, et cetera, et cetera. Now, firstly, that does nothing to drive confidence in you as a leader or your business. And the risk of disengagement from your team just skyrocketed.

[00:09:39] And when they're disengaged, they don't perform. That doesn't just look bad for them. That reflects badly on you as a leader. Secondly, you'll put your team behind other teams in the business because they'll be less likely to engage with the change and move forward. And your team could then earn a reputation for being slow movers, unhelpful, or even just plain [00:10:00] obstinate.

[00:10:00] That ruins relationships, which again makes everyone's life harder. So you need to own it even if you don't agree with it. Now, part of owning it is, as we've already said, really understanding the change and why it's happening and what it means. And by building your own understanding, you can also build your own confidence in owning and leading the change.

[00:10:21] But it also means that if you don't have all the answers - That's okay, say so, but commit to finding out and reporting back to your team. And if you really deeply disagree with what's happening, then be a leader, go have conversations with key stakeholders and share your views and try to influence the direction.

[00:10:40] But part of owning it is also to be realistic. So. For example, if you know it's going to be a rocky road ahead for a little while, say so, but lean into the team's strengths and resilience and remind them that you're there to support them and guide them. The other big part of this is being empathetic. So you're talking to [00:11:00] people, not robots, and they have feelings and emotions and experiences you need to consider.

[00:11:05] So listen deeply to what their concerns are, acknowledge their feelings and work with them to get them over the line. And again, for the comms pros who are listening, you can support leaders in owning it by helping them build the capability to have these conversations, providing the training and the tools to get them to a place where they feel confident and comfortable, but also listening to their own concerns as well. Because as I said, they can have some very valid concerns that could be really helpful for the future direction of the change and your communication as well. Okay, that's number three. Own it.

[00:11:37] Number four, choose the right path. So for leaders, this is about how you will communicate, and this comes down to what's the impact and who is impacted. So for example, let's say you've got a really big team that's spread across a few cities, but the change impact on them is quite small. So in that case, I would consider a virtual team meeting would suffice, maybe backed up with an email. [00:12:00] But if it's a significant impact on a person's role and responsibilities, then that's a one-on-one conversation.

[00:12:07] And you might need to have a lot of one-on-one conversations, depending on how many people are on your team, but you need that time to explain the impact, what options there might be, and to get their questions and feedback in a safe space. You don't want them finding out about this impact from a large group email.

[00:12:24] Now, after you've had all those individual conversations, then you can have the broader team meeting. Now in my book, you'll see I've drawn a little decision tree to help you determine what approach to take, so definitely check that out. It's on page 162 if you want a quick reference. And again, my advice for the comms pros is help leaders build their capability and knowledge in communicating change based on impact and audience. So you may need to run some training sessions, provide some templates, do some one on one coaching until they feel comfortable to take it forward.

[00:12:56] Now, number five and the last tip for today is about challenging the [00:13:00] broken cascade. So this one's more for the comms pros, and that is, we just don't need to rely on the communication cascade because it's broken a lot of the time.

[00:13:09] So yes, leaders are the most trusted source of communication for team members and therefore your most powerful channel of communication. But particularly in large organisations, you'll find some leaders are great at this stuff and others just aren't for whatever reason. And the messages either don't get down to the team member level at all, or when they do, they're just not relevant or authentic.

[00:13:32] It's called the broken cascade, and there's a few things we can do to mitigate it. Number one, make it as easy as possible for leaders to tailor and pass on the messages. And again, training and templates can help here. Number two, make it relevant and interesting. So how you present the information needs to capture attention in a busy world.

[00:13:52] So when you're talking to leaders about the change and the communication they need to do, make sure you're talking about it in an interesting way. And that means content and [00:14:00] presentation of it, but also make clear how the change is relevant to them and their team. And the third tip to circumnavigate the broken cascade is provide other sources of information for team members. So if they don't get it from their leader, they can find it somewhere else. So for example, intranet use, Yammer posts, emails from the CEO, town halls, all those sorts of things.

[00:14:22] Okay, team, it is time for your episode recap. So tune back in if you got a bit distracted there. What we covered today. Number one, research tells us that leaders are the most powerful channel of communication because they're a trusted voice.

[00:14:35] But research also tells us many leaders think they do a better job of communicating than they actually do. So there's a disconnect there that needs to be bridged. Number two, when it comes to the role of leaders in change, they need to fully understand it themselves if they're going to communicate it effectively.

[00:14:51] So get in deep, ask questions and make sure you are clear on why the change is occurring. Number three is get granular with your comms [00:15:00] by making the change very relevant to your team in tangible ways. So i. e. what it means for the way they work, the systems and processes they use, their roles and responsibilities, et cetera.

[00:15:11] And consider if it's appropriate to undertake an exercise with them where you co create an understanding of the change for their team. Number four is own it. You represent the business strategy. So as a leader, you need to own the change and your confidence and ownership will help drive engagement and reduce the risk of resistance in your team.

[00:15:30] And that has better outcomes for everyone. Number five is choose the right path. So think about the scope of the impact of the change and who your audience is and deliver the messaging in a way that makes sense. And number six, the comms cascade can be broken. So to help mitigate it, make it as easy as possible for leaders to tailor the communication and deliver it to their teams, make it interesting and relevant, and ensure there's other ways team members can source the information.

[00:15:59] Now I go [00:16:00] into this in a lot more detail with some fun pictures in my book, which is available on Amazon now. So go check it out. It's called Change Isn't Hard, and you can learn more about it at changecommsbook. au. We'll pop all the links in the show notes for you. And as always, if you have any topics you'd like me to cover in this show, please reach out.

[00:16:18] I'm happy to deliver on your requests. And if you find value in the show, please also consider joining the others who have rated and reviewed. It'll only take a few minutes of your time, but make a big difference. You can also join the thousand plus others who hear from me every fortnight through my email update.

[00:16:34] And that includes loads of links to the latest news in comms and helpful resources. And again, just check out the link in the show notes, or you can sign up via my website. I'll be back next week with another fresh episode of the podcast. In the meantime, keep doing amazing things and bye for now.