When leaders and organizations make changes, everyone wants to know why.
The rationale or reason behind any decision or change allows people to grasp the bigger picture and predict how their tasks and actions must align to achieve the desired outcome.
People’s desire to learn and understand the “Why” is natural and intense. The “Why” gives meaning and purpose to action. Without it, team members are left to follow blindly without a pathway to avoid or correct mistakes.
But as important as the “Why” is, there is a second question regarding change that is even more important to each and every team member, no matter how selfless they may be.
They want to know the answer to one very important question: How will this affect me?
Leaders who answer the “Why” without localizing what it means at the individual level miss an important lever for buy-in and quality execution. Narrowing down the impact of the change on individual performance is required for full subscription and engagement.
The uncertainty of organizational change is hard enough to deal with. But coupled with not knowing how the change will impact them and their work makes the change threatening.
That’s why people often react strongly when they learn of change: Will I lose my job? Will my workload increase? Will my skills still matter? Will my workday require new tasks?
Leaders who fail to localize the impact or effect of the change on each and every team member invite ridicule, resistance, and reaction.
Localizing the “Why” underlying change by articulating what this means for them is the essential building block for gaining full support for the change.
Leaders throughout the organization must consider the ramifications of the change for each team member and then communicate what they see or anticipate. Avoiding these discussions and the clarity they produce creates unnecessary tension and resistance.
For those whose work lives will change dramatically as a result of the change, telling them immediately prevents an erosion of trust that can spread like wildfire inside the organization.
As difficult as these conversations might be, keeping people in the dark has far greater and more negative consequences.
Leaders and organizations must prepare to localize the “Why.”
These conversations must be planned and carried out quickly after a change has been announced.
Presuming they will happen on their own is folly and a recipe for dissent. That’s why “rolling out” a major change is a strategic process. The coordination required can be significant.
Telling people what they most want to learn pays dividends in creating a subscription for the change.
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
