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Dear leader… A simple change story

Dear leader, what do your employees need to cope with major changes? Not just clear communication about objectives and projects. They also need a good understanding of how the change process is progressing. How clearly do you actually have that in mind yourself?

Imagine: you work in the engine room of a ship. You are inside a windowless room. The ship is creaking, banging and lurching. Is it just the rough sea or do we have damage? No one in the engine room can see, but it doesn’t feel right.

The captain and the helmsman are in the wheelhouse, busy charting the course. Very occasionally, the captain grabs the microphone and says something: ‘We are heading for a place where the sun is shining and the sea is calm’. And later: ‘To reach the destination, we do need to sail more efficiently.’ Followed even later by: “Our new values are economy and purpose. I want to ask all of you to think about what that means to you.”

Meanwhile, those in the engine room are anxiously holding on and occasionally looking at each other. Is the ship leaning askew, or does it just seem that way? Some are arguing with each other, about where the ship is and what to do. Should we put the engine on half power? That may be economical, but will we still make it to our destination? Maybe we should just increase the speed? They can’t figure it out. How long is this going to take?

Employees in organisations undergoing change often feel like the crew members in the engine room. They have a rough idea of the change’s goal, but the overall picture remains abstract. They lack a clear understanding of the change process and the ‘route’ the organisation needs to take. They cannot accurately assess where the organization currently stands on that route. This makes it challenging for them to make sense of the changes and events they encounter: Is something going wrong? Or is this just a normal part of the change process? How can we best contribute?

If you, as a leader, are not aware of this, you risk your communication not aligning well with the needs of your employees. Communication about abstract visions does not resonate if the immediate problems are not addressed. And communication about concrete projects or changes does not land well if people do not see the ‘big picture’.

If employees do not have sufficient insight into the change process, it increases the pressure and sometimes the stress they experience. It also leads to employees being less likely to take responsibility. In the long run, it damages trust in the leadership. The people in this example undoubtedly wondered whether those in the control room knew what they were doing.

Therefore, internal communication during major changes should not only focus on clarifying the new direction and mobilizing employees but also on creating visibility. Ensuring that employees have a clear understanding of the direction the organisation is moving and where it stands at any given moment.

Roadmap as part of the vision

In recent years, we have often worked with leaders to create a good roadmap as part of the vision. Such a vision primarily focuses on clear common ambitions (WHY) and priorities (WHAT). The roadmap adds the HOW. It provides a vivid description of the change process from the perspective of employees:

  • What will you, as an employee, experience in the coming months and years?
  • In what order will we do things, and what will those things deliver?
  • What are the approximate timelines?
  • What ups and downs will we encounter, and when can you expect to see the first real improvements?

The roadmap does not need to be very detailed and precise, employees do not expect that at all. The key is to use the roadmap to convey a simple and clear story about the change process, in a way that resonates with employees.

It sounds fairly simple, but developing such a simple story is often difficult when you are in the ‘control room’. There, you are engaged with countless projects, short-term actions, and long-term decisions. From that position, the change process is inherently not simple. It is complex and abstract. How do you simplify this without distorting the complex reality? By taking a step back to look at the broad strokes of the change process. Instead of thinking in terms of projects, actions, and decisions, think in terms of impact: what are the tangible effects of what we do? How do these effects look from the perspective of my employees? And when will they experience these effects? By answering these types of questions, a simple and clear story emerges, which you can visualise in a roadmap.

This exercise can also be very useful for you as a leader. It compels you to think through the change as a process and anticipate its course—something that is often neglected. It helps you maintain a clear view of the bigger picture amidst the daily hustle and bustle. Most importantly, it enables you to better engage all the employees in the engine rooms of your organisation.


Dear leader… 
Under this title, we are reissuing a series of 10 classic blogs on leadership communication and change. Michiel van Delden wrote them over the last few years, translating key lessons from these two disciplines to the world of managers. 

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