How to communicate changes so that you inform and inspire

Nothing strikes fear in a leader’s heart more than an upcoming announcement. Yet big changes and announcements are the turning point for many organizations. Whether its layoffs, acquisitions, launches, or reorganizations, the pressure to “get it right” is real. Company performance, team morale, retention, and public image are all on the line.

Unfortunately, most leaders rely on advisers and experts when it comes to how, when, and what to communicate. Well-meaning attorneys, publicists, or CFOs typically water down the message, and the company ends up with something that is factual but uninspiring. Oftentimes, that message is also ambiguous with no plan, next steps, or information on how.

This isn’t helpful for building morale, or to arm employees with the right information to move forward. To do so, leaders need to strike the right balance of information and inspiration. Here’s how.

Step 1: start with the information

When change is underway, humans fill a void of information with any number of presumptions and speculation. As our head of culture reminds me often, “People just want to know how it affects them.” She’s right. It’s critical for leaders to share as much information as possible, as soon as possible. 

Our agency navigated this recently. A longtime client, partner, and friend acquired our business. It was a great acquisition situation, and one we had worked on for years. Yet, we knew for most of our team it would come as a big surprise—and surprise can turn negative in our minds. “This is probably bad. I’m losing my job. This is going to be terrible.”

To prepare and help ensure that they understood how this would affect them, we created a list of questions we knew would be top of mind and tried our best to answer them in our initial announcement. We were also upfront about questions we knew we couldn’t answer yet. Lastly, we told them when they could expect more information.

Step 2: share ‘why’ with care to build confidence

Everyone wants to work for an inspirational leader. In seasons of change, inspiration comes from understanding the “why.” It also comes from leaders who truly care and are able to share their decision-making process with vulnerability and understanding. 

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I always tried to explain what we were doing and why. We came back to the office sooner than some would have liked and later than others could understand. I knew we had to acknowledge that. Here’s what I had said to our team: “We know some are wondering why the office is still closed and it may feel too cautious to you. Others are still concerned with safety. We’re trying to make the right decision for everyone and for our business. We also know we need to stay at maximum capacity right now because so many of our changemaker clients are in need of our support. So here’s what we’re going to do. . . . ” 

Acknowledging that I understood how it might feel and that I took their concerns into account allowed me to build confidence and trust with the team. It also helped everyone understand why.

Step 3: Tailor the message to your people

In communications, we talk at length about tailoring the message to your audience—to your people. The same principle applies when you’re communicating change to your employees.

Those in creative industries often lean more into inspiration while those in technical fields typically need more information. I was speaking with a marketing director for a biotech company about our mutual experiences introducing employee ownership to our teams. Her experience with a company of scientists was very different from mine at a creative agency. I told her that we took our team to Disney World for our announcement, while she noted that her team would have considered that “fluff” and preferred a different approach. There is no right or wrong here. The key is knowing your people and what they need to navigate a transition successfully. 

Your employee’s response is also highly dependent on organizational culture—which comes from day-to-day interactions and operations. Consistent, candid, clear information builds trust. Once you’ve established that, you can lean into more and more inspirational messaging. Without trust, deeply inspirational messaging can seem manipulative and inauthentic. 

Step 4: Don’t be afraid to showcase vulnerability

While you should never make a company announcement about you, a dose of honesty can go a long way. Shortly after our acquisition, I was speaking privately with our team and they wanted to know how I felt. I could hear leadership experts in my mind: “Instill confidence.” But we all know nothing is 100% wonderful or perfect. So instead I told them, “I’m 95% sure this is a great decision.” And I laughed as I said, “The other 5% is just because you can never know.” I watched as they smiled and knew they really believed me, because it was true. We’re all looking for truth and can smell talking points from a mile away. 

Step 5: know when to mix Information and inspiration

Great leaders inform and inspire, but exceptional leaders know just how to mix the two.

I remember a leader of a billion-dollar global organization who stood in front of her large team. “This year we are going to double revenue,” she said. Her team cheered. They were highly engaged in the global good their work provided for others, and they respected their leader. She fed into the enthusiasm and continued her pep talk. As the meeting time wrapped up, everyone anxiously awaited for details, but got none. She ended with, “Alright, let’s do this!” No plan or next steps, no information, no how. She lost credibility that day in a big way. Instead of the start of a new level of growth, it became the end of trust and ultimately her role in the organization. 

Exceptional leaders know that people need both the why and the how—the inspiration and the information—and mix both to meet the needs of their teams. These are the leaders that we love to follow, and work hard for.   

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