Leading Through Change: Why Executives Need to Communicate Effectively

People are usually afraid and insecure about change. Yet despite anyone’s best efforts, it is inevitable. Greek philosopher Heraclitus established that “change is the only constant” around 500 B.C., and this fact hasn’t changed in centuries.

When faced with change, people have two options: make change happen or have change happen to them. The former usually yields positive outcomes. After all, fortune favors the brave. Those who resist change often find themselves resentful and depressed, with their fortunes in decline.

Interestingly, change doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens to a group of people — a community or company, a city or a country, or maybe an entire civilization. The ability of these groups to respond to change often depends on how their leaders perceive this change and talk about it.

This is what makes the role of executive communications critical to change management. It’s the single most important factor in helping people make change happen, enabling them to bravely adopt and adapt to change. From an evolutionary psychology perspective, there is a predisposition among humans to seek out leaders who can guide them, especially during periods of change. In such times, if they trust their leader, they are usually more apt to accepting suggestions, aligning and ultimately thriving as a group.

In a corporate or business environment, executives are the leaders that people look to for guidance. Their voice is critical when driving change because they have the power to dictate how the organization reacts to change. However, to take a leaf out of “French and Raven's Six Forms of Power,” what makes a great leader a valuable change agent is their ability to combine the various powers available to them to make change palatable for their people. It's not their power to coerce or their position in the organization that influences people. What individuals in today’s organizations are really looking for is an ally in the form of a leader, who combines their expertise, charisma and access to information, to reward them for changing their behavior and welcoming change.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Change Communications

Friedrich Nietzsche said, “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how,” in his book “Twilight of the Idols.” I grew up with a crude paraphrasing of this: “When the why is clear to oneself, the how resolves itself.”

When you think about change in the context of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs — where basic needs such as shelter and safety must be met before psychological needs such as self-actualization are addressed — you realize why it makes people angry and insecure. Change can cause people to lose their livelihoods, and hence, has the potential to directly and negatively impact every single one of the five needs in the hierarchy. Faced with change, individuals often focus solely on their own concerns rather than considering the potential consequences for their organization if it fails to adapt and adopt.

This is where the leader comes in, to help them contextualize the change and think rationally about it. Fortunately, individuals tend to listen to their leader in times like these. Leaders must take up the burden to help their organization navigate through change.

But like the modern version of Nietzsche’s quote, understanding the why also makes the how clear. Leaders need to make communications direct, timely, honest, transparent, accessible, clear and easy to understand. In short, executives communicating about change must do so with empathy.

The Empathy Map

Executives keen to effectively communicate about change might do well to borrow the Empathy Map from the design thinking community. It’s an effective tool that can help executives answer critical questions about the audience, medium, message and more.

An Empathy Map categorizes stakeholders’ experiences into several key sections.

• Think and feel explore the user's internal mindset and emotions.
• Hear focuses on the external input and advice they receive from their social and professional circles.
• See covers the user's visual environment and influences.
• Say and do examine the user's outward behavior and verbal expressions.
• Pain identifies their challenges and concerns.
• Gain delves into their desires and aspirations.

Seen within change management, this framework encapsulates a comprehensive understanding of the organization impacted by change, guiding leaders to craft communications that are deeply rooted in empathy. By systematically breaking down what people in an organization think, feel, hear, see, say and do, along with their pains and gains, leaders can tailor their message and approach to effectively address and resonate with their audience's real needs and conditions.

The Empathy Map thus serves as the key to delivering effective executive-driven change communications, with a genuine understanding and consideration of the target audience's perspective. It’s a tool every leader dealing with change needs in their arsenal.

Fortune May Favor the Brave, But People Favor Those They Trust

Change is an inherent aspect of both personal and professional life. In the past decade, we’ve seen waves of change transform everything. Hybrid work, artificial intelligence, drones and robotics, virtual and augmented reality, autonomous trucks and so much more has become viable and affordable. Each has a significant impact on people, their livelihoods and the organizations they work for.

Today, businesses that adapt quickly and adopt these technologies will be handsomely rewarded. However, most businesses, especially the mid- and large-sized organizations, will need to take their people along on a journey through this change. After all, as the old African adage goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”

People with years of experience working in today’s organizations hold specific knowledge that can become an organization’s competitive advantage, but only if leaders communicate with them effectively and ultimately gain their support for these upcoming changes. Therefore, success of any change initiative is in the hands of the leader and in how they communicate with their teams. Leaders’ involvement and commitment to change is then guaranteed to create fortunes for everyone.