Change Leader : What's your front page and headline?

A paragraph in the change pack I spied at an organisation this morning read like this:

We need a more contemporary reimagining of our integrated administrative capability.

What? What does that mean!!? You're leading change and you're communicating like that?

You can read more thrilling gobbledygook here by using the automated generator! But really, do leaders still distribute uninspiring, time wasting and mind-numbing change messages like this?

Unfortunately they do.

But we must do better. We must be clear, inspiring, real, relevant, brief, to the point. And then get on with it and listen, engage, and keep inspiring throughout the change.

So how to communicate before, during and after change?

You can take a leaf from Simon Sinek's angle on Start With Why, or the earlier version of it from Bernice McCarthy and the 4MAT Frame, loved by trainers around the world.

Or you could go PR-style and craft out your key messages. In some of my earlier roles on communication campaigns and strategies we'd create a 'story house'.

We'd build our key messages from the ground up:

• what is a foundation message, must be delivered message (like the concrete foundation or slab)?
• what is a structural, framework kind of message (like the wooden frame)?
• what is a higher vision, overarching message (like a roof)?

Another approach is to think sharp and engaging; to think in front page and headline style. 

What will the front page of your 'edition' on change read like? What story will you be leading with?

Where is the investigative piece? The history piece... the bit about why this is happening, the inspiring information about others who have taken this path, the reason why the business needs to do this... and what it means for the team. 

What are the headlines about this change? Where can I find the further details, the background, the unpacked data and spreadsheets and research on it? Where can I find the 'long read'? Where is the photojournalism on it - show me what it will look like? Where's the shipping news: what will be happening when - what's arriving when and where? What will be starting, what's stopping and when is that happening?

Delete that workplace waffle that reads: We're going forward with our plans to implement systemised third-generation paradigm shifts.

Urgh!

Go clear, bold, strong, interesting, engaging. 

Create your front page and your headlines; build your readership for this change. 

Pull the Plug on Change : Bullet Points are Bullshit

"Pull the plug! Go on I dare you! Step out from behind the PowerPoint slide deck you've created."

I said this to a leader of change in a health insurance business and he said ....'No. I can't do that!!!'

But if you're 'rolling out' your communications and key messages for that change and transformation project you're working on - just as this leader was - you don't need a slide deck, a pack or a bunch of pages with boxes, arrows, chevrons and bullet points in it!

In fact those bullet points you've got there? They're bullish*t.

There. It's in print. I think bullet points are bullish*t. 

They boring, linear, impossible to memorise after about five - unless you're a memory champ - and they do little to inspire or inform, particularly during times of change. 

Most of all, bullet points often show up as a default option in PowerPoint. But you need to buck the default if you want to get engagement and understanding with your message. 

With all of the information flying around your organisation and team, you want your change messages to get a little more cut-through than the notice in the kitchen that cleanliness is everyone's responsibility!

Just because you have some key points to make about change, doesn't mean they need to be communicated as points.

Unpack your entire message across different dimensions: a story, some data, a quote, the rollout plan, where things were, what they'll be like in the future, some engaging questions, some customer insights, the trends in the industry. 

So this leader who I challenged to 'pull the plug'? We took his PowerPoint pack of bullet points and crafted some flip charts, posters, key messages, a couple of stories and some questions to have dialogue with the team. 

That's what he rolled out across the country. No PowerPoint in sight. 

He did pull the plug; and his people were so pleased he did. He stepped out from behind the pack of pages. Now he's talking, engaging, interacting and co-creating the change process with his team. That's leadership!

The best meeting : 10 minutes, no water bottles, no chairs, no tables

At a client workplace this morning I saw a group of colleagues heading off to their Monday morning meeting. They were all carrying note pads and pens and water bottles full to the brim. Into the meeting room they walked, they shut the door, sat down and they got into two hours of ..... yawn. 

I'm working with them to help them become quicker collaborators, clearer communicators and faster problem solvers. 

The first thing we will 'delete' (before we create or add to a 'do' list) is their lengthy Monday morning meeting. 

Starting tomorrow they'll be having a daily stand up, or a huddle; a quick (5 - 15 mins) standing meeting that reports on what each individual is working on and if there are any impediments to them getting that done today.

They'll meet again the next day, same type of meeting. And the day after, and every working day onward. 

This 'stand up' approach to meetings is efficient, quick, clear, focused, progressive and helps get stuff done. 

It's a no nonsense, no blah-blah and no bullish*t approach to producing outcomes and getting over hurdles. 

Borrowed from the worlds of agile and scrum and highly effective in software development, the daily stand up answers three questions and everyone reports in on them, quickly: 

1. What did I accomplish yesterday?
2. What will I do today?
3. What obstacles are impeding my progress?

A team in financial services I helped set up these meetings got started, but then they started shifting the time of the meetings to 10am and midday and then sometimes it didn't happen. 

The key is same time, every day, no matter who is or isn't there. The meetings get people used to communicating frequently, face to face and clearly. 

It's so great to see a team get some momentum with this approach. They're relieved at the time they're saving; they're motivated by the progress they can see they're making. 

And the team leader can see quickly which areas need their input and leadership to unblock or remove impediments. 

You don't need a meeting room. Stand up in your working area. 

Try it at home. Have a daily stand up meeting at home to work out what's happening today and what obstacles are in the way. 

There's so much more to read and learn about stand ups. Start with this awesome piece from Jason Yip on Martin Fowler's website and you'll find plenty of insights, learning and tips on how to make it more than just about standing up. 

Your team's culture and collaborative effectiveness can change. This is one strong way to impact and lead that change. 

Will you stand up?