Storytelling as a cornerstone of change management

Change communication and two-way symmetrical communication possess invaluable attributes that can enrich the change management ‘product’. They include issues & change management, listening, market research and messaging – all of which use the cornerstone component of storytelling.

Communication alone, however, no matter what the indisputable logic of the change (e.g. the business won’t survive and nor will your jobs if we don’t get on the bus together) and the effectiveness of getting people to recognise that logic, is not enough to make people change.

This post is an excerpt from A Communicators Guide to Successful Change Management, a free resource that explores, and provides practical strategic and tactical advice on, how communication contributes to effective change management.

Communication is imperative, yes, but it’s not the be-all and end-all and its application, like all elements of change management, requires humility, collaboration and, as Rachael Bibby has insightfully pointed out, compassion from its exponents, including executive leadership.

The ark – and the arcs – that is storytelling

At the heart of effective communication is articulating a compelling story – storytelling – a topic discussed at length in The Communicator’s Guide to Successful Change Management. And it’s not as easy as it might sound.

It’s the compelling characteristic which is the kicker.

The narrative ‘arc’ provides a vision and/or big picture scene setting context. This is especially relevant to transformational change, but so does it provide a context for any form of communication. From this narrative arc other messaging materialises, messaging more specific to the actual changes occurring.

The narrative arc has, embedded within it, the rationales for change. There are a number of factors relevant to the arc...

It will include a (hopefully) compelling vision for the future. But this goes to one of the core premises of effective communication (and culture for that matter):

·      Whose vision is it?

·      Was it co-created with employees or was it conceptualised by executive leadership and/or a consultancy firm?

·      “The power of a vision comes truly into play only when employees themselves have had some part in its creation” (Goman, 1999).

Employees need to be given the big picture and then have it drilled down to the what’s in it for me (WIIFM) dimension. Maybe the WIIFM is as simple as your job is at risk if we don’t change.

There needs to be honesty and transparency in communicating the rationale for change and, hence, in the narrative arc and vision.

Organisations need to share characteristics of their operating environment that are making change/transformation necessary and what needs to occur to future-proof the organisation.

Research consistently tells us that employees are phlegmatic in their response when it comes to these sorts of reality checks. They may not find it palatable, but they would rather be told the truth than given candy-coated, obfuscatory tales told in frigid auto-piloted corporate weasel words.

Operating environment factors driving the need for change could include:

·      a challenging economic operating environment

·      the unpredictability of, or emerging, competition

·      customer needs

·      leaps in technology that will facilitate efficiencies occurring and organisational competitiveness or productivity improving

·      an organisation needing to play catch up in productivity (Greece, as well as Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland are examples of where change management needs to operate on a nation-wide basis!)

·      financials, risks, potential positive and negative outcomes of undertaking or not undertaking change (Goman, 1999).

Storytelling for trust

A key factor – and outcome that is sought – through organisational storytelling is trust.

This goes directly to the heart of culture (in itself heavily influenced by how much an organisational genuinely listens to its employees and acts upon what it has heard), because no amount of incisive, memorable storytelling will resonate – for the right reasons, at least – if trust is not granted from executive leadership and line management to employees.

Similarly, trust will not exist within employees unless the CEO, as the Edelman Trust Barometer indicates:

·      communicates clearly and transparently

·      tells the truth, no matter how complex or unpopular

·      engages with employees regularly to discuss the state of the business

·      is front and centre during challenging times.

Each of these four factors is crucial to change management. If it occurs, change has a fighting chance of becoming embedded. If it is not occurring, either from the CEO or executive leadership, then...

This post is an excerpt from A Communicators Guide to Successful Change Management, a free resource that explores, and provides practical strategic and tactical advice on, how communication contributes to effective change management. If you would like a copy of the guide, please reach out to me.

(Goman, Karen: 1999. Twelve Questions to Ask Before Communicating Change. In IABC Handbook of Organizational Behaviour. 122-135. New York: Marcel Dekker.)