Making Sense of the Noise

Rolling out multiples changes at the same time is like, “Publishing a book one chapter at a time.  If you wait for the whole book to be written it will be out of date.”

So, how do you manage when there’s a steady drip of seemingly disconnected change messages?  When each project, leader, and initiative has its own narrative. Slightly different language. Slightly different goals. And nobody can explain why it all matters.

What happens in this environment?
People can’t see the bigger picture. They don’t know what to focus on. And eventually, they stop listening altogether.  When that happens, they don’t shift behaviours.

Unfortunately, this is typical and our data backs it up.   Only 37% of people strongly agree there’s a clear link between what’s changing now and the organisation’s future. Just 23% say leadership gives clear direction through change.

As one of our contributors put it, “The danger is thinking you’ve ‘set the context’ with a few high-level statements.”

How do you cut through?

• Anchor everything to one story. A strong change narrative is the thread that runs through every initiative, connecting the dots and showing people where the organisation is headed.

• Layer Communication. Give people the level of detail they need. No more, no less. Execs might want a roadmap but teams on the ground only need to know what changing next week.     The story is the same, the level of detail isn’t.

• Be brave enough to say ‘We don’t know yet.’ It’s not a weakness. It’s a signal that you’re being straight. In uncertain times, that builds trust and people will be open to change.

When comms teams amplify what matters and tune out the rest, organisations can move forward.

This is the third article in our Making Change Stick series. You can download the full report here and explore other insights in our news and insights section.