Effective Leadership Communication: Navigating Change with Confidence

There are at least two ways of looking at this. You could say the following and you wouldn’t be wrong: leading change effectively requires clear, consistent, and empathetic communication, yet it often faces challenges due to resistance, uncertainty, and the complexity of human nature.

But you could also say this and you’d be correct too: effective leadership during change requires clear, consistent, and empathetic communication, yet leaders often fail to adequately convey the need for change or consider the human impact it will have on employees.

The first instance leans more towards employees as the change blockers while the second has leaders firmly in the crosshairs. Add in that successful change has become more difficult in recent years because there’s been so much of it that employees are fatigued, and you get the hard end of change challenges facing organizations today. 

Leaders who want and need change fast, but fail to communicate it effectively and don’t take the impact on their people into account enough; and employees who are getting endless demands for change, communicated poorly. All against a weary background of change fatigue.

But when you unpick this dilemma, it becomes clear that there’s a key solution and it rests within one of the main challenges: communications—specifically leadership communications.

The fact that communication is one of the main reasons for change failure is nothing new. As far back as the 1990s, Harvard Professor John P. Kotter highlighted it when he said one of the top errors of executives was “under-communicating the (change) vision by a factor of 10.”

Countless studies since then have proven Kotter’s point and leadership comms being sand in the gears of change continues to this day, too often. But not always—especially with smart and forward-thinking companies, as we’ll see here.

Understanding Leadership Communication

As we've said here before at Poppulo, great communicators don’t necessarily make great leaders, but brilliant leaders are always superb communicators. Indeed, as the communications expert and author Carmine Gallo wrote in his Harvard Business Review article How Great Leaders Communicate, “transformational leaders are exceptional communicators.”

That business leaders today must prioritize communication as a critical skillset is beyond debate. In 2020, the global consulting firm McKinsey, published the results of extensive interviews with top CEOs around the world: CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest—and according to co-author Carolyn Dewar, communication skill is the thread that runs through everything that the best of the best excels at.

However, poor leadership communication is a real issue. “The most common cause of poor leader communication is that leaders don’t take communication nearly as seriously as they take other business disciplines,” according to Helio Fred Garcia, author of The Power of Communication: Skills to Build Trust, Inspire Loyalty, and Lead Effectively

That said, events of recent years, from the pandemic to various waves of social and political unrest, have seen the emergence of increased employee expectations of highly visible and engaged leadership communication.

But of course, not all leaders are great communicators and many feel more comfortable doing strategy in the boardroom than in speaking front of a town hall audience or on video.

However, like it or not, comfortable or uncomfortable, leaders today don’t have a choice, especially when they need to implement change—even multiple and simultaneous changes—in their organizations.

They have to communicate really well and listen with intent to their people. This is where their internal comms teams shine, helping leaders to become better communicators. We’ve even written a hugely popular guide on the subject, and you can download it here for free:

The Importance of Communication in Change Management

As we’ve seen, leadership communication has long been considered crucial in driving change. But in these times of rapid and unrelenting change, the need for an organization’s top executives to be visible and to communicate clearly and constantly at every stage of the change process is more critical than ever before—if they want their people to change their behaviors and buy into the program.

Leaders need to be able to clearly communicate the ambition, vision, and direction of the company; be able to align the organization; mobilize teams through leaders; engage the board; and connect with stakeholders, especially employees—the people who ultimately will deliver on company goals.

None of this can be accomplished without a high-priority focus on internal communications. It's hard to understand how some leaders still have too narrow a view of the role of internal communication, whether it’s related to change or any other part of the normal running of the organization.

They think it’s simply about getting information out there to employees and getting feedback—and the feedback piece doesn't always figure with them either. This type of leader totally underestimates the role—and unquantifiable value—of internal communication in a critical aspect of organizational change: trust.

The level of trust in a leader is reflected in how far employees will go to support them, and communication has a direct impact on that level of trust, as research by the UK’s highly respected Institute of Internal Communications shows.

Its’ IC 2024 Index surveyed 4,000 internal communication practitioners and employees, and the results are compelling:

– Trust in Leadership: A massive 74-point trust gap exists between employees who rate communication as excellent compared to those who rate it as poor.

– Change Management: Excellent communication results in 93% employee positivity for the change.

Likewise, research by McKinsey shows that good communication has an enormous impact on enterprise-wide transformations, where company-wide change efforts are 12.4 times more likely to be successful when senior managers communicate continually.

Key Components of Effective Leadership Communication

1. Be Honest and Transparent to Build Employee Trust

As we’ve seen, trust in leadership can make or break any change initiative; it will define how far employees are willing to go to support the changes they’re being asked to make.

This is especially true when they’re tired of change. Being open and honest about the change, its reasons, and its potential impacts helps build that essential trust.

Leaders must articulate their vision and expectations without ambiguity, and they must get this out to everyone impacted by what’s being proposed, frequently and consistently.

This transparency builds trust and ensures that everyone is on the same page. Trust and credibility are the bedrock of effective leadership communication, and key to getting employee buy-in for change they want to be part of.

 According to Harvard Business School, transparency can break down communication barriers and foster an environment where employees feel empowered to share their ideas.

2. Be Clear, Be Concise and Avoid Jargon

Clear communication is always important, but even more so during change, when people might naturally be worried or suspicious about how it will affect them and their jobs. Clear and concise language ensures that employees can easily understand the message and its implications, and avoiding jargon prevents confusion and misunderstandings.

Getting back to the trust factor again, when leaders are crystal clear and specific about what they’re asking for it can demonstrate that they respect the intelligence of their employees and are committed to transparency, building essential trust. It can also:

• Improve employee engagement: By making people feel informed and involved in the change process.
• Reduce anxiety: Clarity and conciseness can help alleviate employee anxiety by providing a clear and focused understanding of the situation and why change is needed
• Lead to faster decision-making: When information is presented clearly and concisely, employees can make informed decisions more quickly

3. Tailoring Messages for Different Audiences

Leaders need to understand how the planned changes will impact different audiences and tailor their messaging accordingly. They must recognize that different groups may have varying levels of understanding or concerns, and tailor the change communication messaging to address those specific needs and interests of each audience.

Equally important is that no audience is overlooked in organizational change comms, and leaders need to work with their internal communication teams to use the correct mix of channels to reach and connect with different audiences. This is where a communication platform like Poppulo is highly effective, powering comms to employees wherever they are, across multiple channels: email, digital signage, mobile, intranet, and enterprise social networks.

If this tailoring and targeting of change comms is done carefully and with intent, every employee knows what’s being asked of them and why, and it can help damp down worries and concern, which are one of the main drivers of a growing problem: employee resistance to change.

According to a 2023 Gartner report: “the average employee experienced 10 planned enterprise changes in the past 12 months alone, and they are getting fatigued. Willingness to support organizational change collapsed from 74% of employees in 2016 to just 43% in 2022.”

Navigating Organizational Change

Understand the Change and its Implications

Before diving into how to navigate change and communication strategies, it's crucial to have a thorough understanding of the proposed changes and their implications.

The executive leadership team need to have clear answers to these questions, and if they haven’t, internal communication teams must impress on them the need to have the answers before any plans are communicated.

• What is the change goal?
• How will it benefit the organization and its employees?
• What are the potential challenges and risks?
• How will it impact employees and what are their responses likely to be?
• What is the timeline for implementation?

Once you have answers to these questions and a clear understanding of where you're going, you can tailor your change communication strategy accordingly.

Best Practices for Change Communication

Build a Strong Foundation

Involve all key stakeholders. Early involvement of key stakeholders, including managers, department heads, and employee representatives, can help build buy-in and address concerns proactively.

As we’ve seen, whether change is communicated effectively or ineffectively has an enormous impact on how employees react, and ultimately how far they will be willing to go to support what’s being asked of them.

So, it's essential that senior internal communication executives are involved from the very start when the initial discussions are taking place. The critical importance of this has been stressed by change communication expert Helen Cunningham, Head of Global Change & Internal Communication at Amadeus, in Getting Change Communications Right During Constant Transformation. 

Create an Inclusive Change Management Team

Establish a dedicated team responsible for overseeing the change process, including communication and implementation.

Start Change Communications Early

Begin communicating about the change well in advance to give employees time to process the information and ask questions.

Use Storytelling to Engage and Motivate Employees

Most people have a natural resistance to change, especially when it's imposed on them by their leaders. Because the old days of command authority are over, the art of persuasion works more effectively in conveying the need for change.

If employees can be convinced the change is necessary, even if it has some negative impacts for them, it can ease resistance. One of the most effective ways of doing this is through storytelling: build the change story in a way that will resonate with your people.

A great example of this, is how the CEO of Scandanavian airlines, Jan Carlzon rallied employees around radical change needed for the company’s survival, through powerful messaging and storytelling: "We have to fight in a stagnating market. We have to fight competitors who are more efficient than we are. And who are at least as good as we are in figuring out the best deals. We can do it. But only if we are prepared to fight. Side by side. We are all in this together."

Encourage Two-Way Dialogue and Feedback

Effective communication has to be a two-way street where leaders encourage dialogue and also actively seek feedback from employees. This approach not only provides valuable insights but also makes employees feel heard and valued.

Adapting to Employee Feedback and Concerns

Adapting communication strategies based on employee feedback shows that leaders value their input, and being seen to take it on board is one of the best ways to win hearts and minds. This responsiveness can enhance trust and engagement, making the change process smoother.

Without being able to convince people of the need for change and getting their buy-in, successful change is impossible, as Professor John Kotter stressed in his landmark Harvard BusinessReview article: Leading Change. Why Transformations Fail.

“Transformation is impossible unless hundreds, or thousands of people are willing to help, often to the point of making short-term sacrifices. Employees will not make sacrifices, even if they are unhappy with the status quo, unless they believe that useful change is possible. Without credible communication, and a lot of it, the hearts and minds of the troops are never captured,” he said.

Mitigating Employee Resistance to Change

In a recent MIT Sloan Management Review article he co-authored: Strengthen Your Change Muscle for Competitive Advantage, Professor Kotter said: “Our biology and evolutionary history...bias us towards the status quo and stability.” Which inherently implies resistance to change, even if that change might ultimately be positive for employees.

After all, we humans are emotional beings hardwired for stability, and change tripwires emotions. Unresolved resistance will undermine and ultimately sabotage change plans. So, here are some ways of addressing the issue.

• First, understand what resistance is and what’s causing it. Identify the root causes and address them directly and quickly. This blog looks at the causes of resistance and how to tackle them.
• Focus on the F-word! Joss Mathieson, a leading authority on organizational change and founder of Change Oasis, highlights something organizations frequently ignore when they’re planning change: the feelings of their employees. In this article he makes a very strong case for emotions and feelings to be not only strongly considered but integrated into change strategies and stories.
• Provide Support: Offer support and assistance to employees who may be struggling with the change.
• Celebrate Successes: Highlight the positive outcomes of the change and celebrate milestones to maintain momentum.

Monitoring and Adjusting Change Communication Strategies

Monitoring and adjusting these strategies ensure that the intended messages are received, understood, and acted upon by all stakeholders. Here’s ways to do it:

1. Set Clear Objectives: Define what successful communication looks like. Objectives might include employee understanding of the change, engagement levels, or behavioral shifts.
2. Use Multiple Channels: Employ a variety of communication channels on an enterprise grade, purpose-built platform such as Poppulo, to reach all employees everywhere, through email, digital signage, intranet updates, and enterprise social networks, effectively connecting different audience segments.
3. Gather Feedback: Regularly solicit feedback from employees through surveys, focus groups, and informal conversations. This helps gauge their understanding and sentiment towards the change.
4. Monitor Engagement Metrics: Track metrics such as email open rates, attendance at meetings, and participation in forums. Low engagement might indicate a need to adjust the communication approach.
5. Analyze Feedback: Assess the feedback to identify common themes, concerns, and areas of confusion. This analysis helps in understanding the effectiveness of the communication strategy.
6. Adjust Messaging: Based on feedback and engagement metrics, refine the messaging to address any misunderstandings or concerns. Ensure that the messages are clear, concise, and relevant.
7. Provide Training: Offer training sessions to help employees understand the change better. This can include workshops, webinars, or one-on-one coaching.
8. Communicate Successes: Share success stories and quick wins to build momentum and demonstrate the benefits of the change.
9. Continuous Improvement: Treat change communication as an ongoing process. Regularly review and adjust strategies to ensure they remain effective and aligned with the evolving needs of the organization.

Assessing Change Communication Effectiveness

1. Surveys and Polls: Conduct regular surveys and polls to measure employee understanding and sentiment. Questions should focus on clarity of communication, perceived benefits, and areas needing improvement.
2. Focus Groups: Organize focus groups to dive deeper into specific issues. These sessions provide qualitative insights that can complement survey data.
3. Performance Metrics: Link communication effectiveness to performance metrics such as productivity, employee morale, and turnover rates. Improvements in these areas can indicate successful communication.
4. Feedback Loops: Establish feedback loops where employees can continuously share their thoughts and concerns. This ongoing dialogue helps in making timely adjustments to the communication strategy.
5. Leadership Reviews: Regularly review communication strategies with leadership to ensure alignment with organizational goals and to secure their support for necessary adjustments.

Conclusion:

Effective leadership communication is the cornerstone of successful change management. By fostering open dialogue, building trust, and addressing concerns proactively, leaders can navigate change with confidence.

Remember, clear, consistent, and empathetic communication is not just a tool; it's a strategic imperative. By investing in effective communication, leaders can empower their teams, drive innovation, and achieve lasting organizational success.