Great change communications are the cornerstone of a strong and successful change implementation.  But we’re usually confronted with someone who has the idea to “put a few posters up” and call it a day.  We know this won’t be a successful, so let’s start getting into why.  Change communication needs to focus on purpose first, and modality second.  So first of all, you need to know why you’re communicating and secondly what, before we even get into how.  Change implementation is long, and we have so many points along the way.  It can get confusing and overwhelming especially when we have sponsors and others involved.

To help clarify this, I like to think of communications in two main categories: 

• Advertising, and
• Tactics

Advertising communications happen throughout the change, but the content of the communication changes depending on where you are in the change journey.  Tactical communications escalate before, during and after implementation and tend to have a shorter, but purpose-driven run in your change strategy.
 
The purpose of Advertising communications include:

1. Get your stakeholders to understand that change is happening and understand what the change is.  For example, that the Finance information system is changing on May 1st and that the technology is changing.
2. The benefits of change for individuals or broader groups of people.  For example, the Finance information system is changing because we need better data, and a central infrastructure.  The benefits are that expense reports will be easier to create and submit, and department and division finance will have access to analytics for budget and spending anytime, not just quarterly. We won’t need to use extra excel spreadsheets to manage process outside of the system, a process that people find cumbersome, and is error prone.
3. The importance of the change. Signal this with having powerful people talk about the change and how important it is.  For example, the CEO talks about this change at a town hall meeting, rather than the CFO, signalling that it is important to the organization.
4. Create a sense of urgency, excitement, and anticipation. This is all in tone and delivery – how we talk about the change (positive, exciting etc) and the body language, pitch, and tone of how people speak about it communicates and transmits these desired sentiments and emotions
5. Driving adoption Success stories as the change is happening, hearing from peer voices, making it real for people on the front lines. Competition and collaboration can be a highlight of this part of change communications.

Tactical communications answer the questions, where, what, who, when and how.  Tactical communications include (as examples):

• Scheduling and tactics around change implementation – when is training happening, how can I sign up, when is the implementation happening, what do I need to know, when is “go-live” what does it mean”
• Specific changes relevant to individuals or departments. For example, all managers will be required to look up and sign off quarterly spend and budget adjustments in the system using a new process.
• Where to access ongoing help or training - who are the super users, where can learners access training, manuals, guides, etc.
• How to implement the change – what are people expected to do, specific to their group or process.

 
I find that poor change communication focuses too heavily on one of the categories, where great change communication focuses on both!  Change leaders can also be hesitant to communicate early and often because they think they need to have all the answers to the questions in the tactics section.  But we can help bridge this gap by talking about the categories. It makes their role clearer, and easier to understand.

In next week’s article we will get into some of the more tactical aspects of change communications including what types of communication modalities you need to use in today’s context.

A reminder for our readers, we’re sharing a free communications plan template with our subscribers in the November edition of our newsletter.

Sign up before November 1st HERE to reserve your copy!

​Going forward we’re going to be sharing free templates for core change management deliverables every month with subscribers to our newsletter. 

In this episode of Change: The Conversation we are back with Chris Carter, a change consultant and the founder and principal of orgshift solutions.
 
Chris and I are back, to talk about how strategic planning used to be and how this will change in the future. Chris is working on the cutting edge of strategic planning, and how we are using digital tools to rethink this process, make it more inclusive and part of a journey. After all, it is so much more effective if we can bring together more people, have broader participation and as a result, better implementation, ownership and accountability. We talk about how the success of strategy is in the execution and how digital facilitation is the starting point that makes this so much more powerful.
 
Chris provides his key advice for leaders on how they can rethink strategic planning facilitation and how digital is a means for positive change.

More about Chris:
Chris is an experienced business and IT management consultant with over 25 years of experience in all aspects of change, especially when enabled by technology. Leading with a business-first perspective, Chris has consulted to both public and private sector organizations: facilitating strategic direction, designing appropriate and flexible organizational structures and processes, documenting business and system requirements, creating road maps and action plans, preparing change program business cases, assessing outsourcing strategies, implementing benefit realization plans and systems, and providing program management support and leadership to achieve desired business outcomes.
Chris is the founder and principal of orgshift solutions, a leading boutique consultancy focused on helping clients from all sectors – non-profit, private and public sector – design and deliver strategic and operational decision-making, value-driven transformation programs, and breakthrough group collaboration performance.
 
 
Follow Chris at:
Website  |   LinkedIn
 

In this episode of Change: The Conversation we are speaking with Chris Carter, a change consultant and the founder and principal of orgshift solutions.
 
Chris and I have worked together on several occasions, and both have a deep and abiding passion for change!  Chris talks through his experience building a change facilitation practice and his deep experience in this field.  We talk about the power and benefits of using digital to enhance change facilitation, something that Chris has exceptional experience with.
Chris shares a story about one of his clients and how group facilitation was the key tool that helped this client come to terms with their challenges and help them chart a new course for the future.
 
More about Chris:
Chris is an experienced business and IT management consultant with over 25 years of experience in all aspects of change, especially when enabled by technology. Leading with a business-first perspective, Chris has consulted to both public and private sector organizations: facilitating strategic direction, designing appropriate and flexible organizational structures and processes, documenting business and system requirements, creating road maps and action plans, preparing change program business cases, assessing outsourcing strategies, implementing benefit realization plans and systems, and providing program management support and leadership to achieve desired business outcomes.
Chris is the founder and principal of orgshift solutions, a leading boutique consultancy focused on heliping clients from all sectors – non-profit, private and public sector – design and deliver strategic and operational decision-making, value-driven transformation programs, and breakthrough group collaboration performance.
 
 
Follow Chris at:
Website  |   LinkedIn
​

In this episode of Change: The Conversation we continue our conversation with Stephanie J. Marshall. 
Resistance is the bane of the change manager's existence! So what about resistance? We're back in this episode to continue our conversation with Stephanie J. Marshall, alignment coach, on the power and purpose of resistance in personal change. Her approach? Resistance is where the GOOD stuff is. Resistance comes from our assumptions about change and how we are going to feel. Steph talks about how she approaches resistance and works through it with her clients, and walks through her approach. Managing resistance within ourselves is the key to leading change successfully and is an essential journey for every change leader. Learn to expect resistance, wrestle with it and excavate it for yourself, and you'll become a much stronger leader. Working through and dealing with emotions is one of the thorniest areas of change both personal and professional and we talk about the conflict between logic and emotion and how to address it.
 
More about Stephanie:
Stephanie is a Toronto-based alignment coach and mindset coach, speaker, and podcaster. She helps women who feel stuck get out of their own way so that they can figure out what they're capable of and start having real fun. She has coached people from all over the world, from artists to executives, and from all stages of life. As co-founder of Kickstartology Coaching she created the Alignment Coaching Framework and the Kickstartology Alignment Coaching Program, rooted in neuroscience, cognitive and behavioural psychology, and research in coaching as well as behavioural change. Her clients get phenomenal results. Stephanie started her career working in Media and has an MBA, but so do a lot of people. She dabbles in stand-up comedy and knows her dog is the best.
 
Follow Stephanie at:
Website  |  Instagram  |  LinkedIn

In this episode of Change: The Conversation we continue our conversation with Stephanie J. Marshall. 
So, where the heck are we going? Change is the destination. We're back with Stephanie J. Marshall, alignment coach, to talk about the importance of vision. Stephanie breaks down the vision process and how she helps clients build a compelling vision and what makes it impactful and successful. Developing a personal vision is just the beginning, and Stephanie talks about the key component that is absolutely critical before any change can really happen. We get into why using creativity and imagination conflicts in your brain with the tactical planning, and how Steph uses the first law of alignment: spend more time thinking about what we want than what we don't want.

Stephanie mentioned the cool study on vision. There is more detail in this book:  

In this episode of Change: The Conversation I have the pleasure of speaking with Stephanie J. Marshall.  I’m a client of Stephanie’s and a huge fan of the alignment framework, so this conversation is one for the ages. We talk about the intersection of personal and organizational change and what this all means.
So what is an alignment coach? In this episode Stephanie J. Marshall of Kickstartology introduces us to the wonderful world of alignment coaching and how it relates to personal change. Stephanie is in the business of coaching leaders through change and helping them effectively lead their teams. We talk about how an amazing transformation always starts with you, and how we can approach change from a personal perspective. We talk about why resistance and denial are normal reactions to change and how to get through them. Then, we get into who is most surprised by the emotional reactions to change. Stephanie breaks down how small shifts lead to lasting transformation and success in any change and how alignment is at the center of it all.
 
More about Stephanie:
Stephanie is a Toronto-based alignment coach and mindset coach, speaker, and podcaster. She helps women who feel stuck get out of their own way so that they can figure out what they're capable of and start having real fun. She has coached people from all over the world, from artists to executives, and from all stages of life. As co-founder of Kickstartology Coaching she created the Alignment Coaching Framework and the Kickstartology Alignment Coaching Program, rooted in neuroscience, cognitive and behavioural psychology, and research in coaching as well as behavioural change. Her clients get phenomenal results. Stephanie started her career working in Media and has an MBA, but so do a lot of people. She dabbles in stand-up comedy and knows her dog is the best.
 
Follow Stephanie at:
Website  |  Instagram  |  LinkedIn
 

Episode 2 of Change the Conversation is a continuation of our last conversation with Melissa Kaan.  Melissa has a wealth of leadership experience, working in various parts of the Canadian healthcare System.  In this conversation we build upon the topics in last week’s episode and discuss what it takes to be a change leader in a changing world! Melissa shares her insight and advice on how you can be a stronger change leader and the secrets that led to her success.  I learned a lot from Melissa and I know you will too!
 
More about Melissa:
Melissa Kaan is a strategist with 17 years of healthcare experience in public, private, and nonprofit sectors. After being let go during an en-masse layoff from her government job of nine and a half years, Melissa found herself navigating a significant life change unexpectedly. With that came new opportunities that led to more change including work as a consultant in the first year of the COVID pandemic. She has a Bachelor of Science in Medical Radiation Sciences from the University of Toronto and an MBA specializing health industry management and strategy from the Schulich School of Business. She lives in Toronto with her partner and two teenaged children who continue to bring change into her life.
 
Follow Melissa: LinkedIn

We’re opening this season with our first guest, Melissa Kaan. Melissa has a wealth of leadership experience, working in various parts of the Canadian healthcare System.  You’re going to love this conversation as Melissa brings her leadership insights in transformational change to the table. She talks about what its like to be brought into a project mid-change, the multiple challenges she faced, and how she overcame them.

More about Melissa:
Melissa Kaan is a strategist with 17 years of healthcare experience in public, private, and nonprofit sectors. After being let go during an en-masse layoff from her government job of nine and a half years, Melissa found herself navigating a significant life change unexpectedly. With that came new opportunities that led to more change including work as a consultant in the first year of the COVID pandemic. She has a Bachelor of Science in Medical Radiation Sciences from the University of Toronto and an MBA specializing health industry management and strategy from the Schulich School of Business. She lives in Toronto with her partner and two teenaged children who continue to bring change into her life.
 
Follow Melissa: LinkedIn