Perfect Phrases for Communicating Change

Lawrence Polsky is a managing partner at PeopleNRG, a change management consultancy firm that specializes in optimizing “people energy” through high impact tools, programs and ideas. For the past 16 years, he has assisted dozens of organizations as a consultant, coach, and trainer in the areas of leadership, change management, team building, and professional development. Antoine Greschel is a managing partner at PeopleNRG, a change management consultancy firm that specializes in optimizing “people energy” through high impact tools, programs and ideas. He was previously head of Global eLearning and Leadership Education at Aventis, a $20B pharmaceutical company, headquartered in France. He has over 15 years of experience developing award-winning programs that improve business communication and leadership within global, multi-cultural settings.

• Part One: Foundations of Communicating ChangeThe critical communication challenges in each phase of change: Launch, Execution, Sustain Balancing the 3 elements of change communication: Information, Emotion & Action5 most common mistakes leaders make when communicating changeAn easy to use checklist to review any message before sending (written or verbal)Part Two: Perfect Phrases for Leading Change A. Best Practices for Communicating During ChangeIn this section we would outline Best Practices from research and experience for communicating change such as:Make it SimpleEmpathize Personalize Messages Tell the truthCommunicate, Communicate, CommunicateLink to BusinessAvoid Wishful ThinkingCreate 2 way communicationB. We will include the following Perfect Phrases sections and appropriate phrases lists to support each of the following areas:Announcing ChangeResponding to QuestionsOvercoming Fear Creating UrgencyAddressing Loss of Power / StatusCareer DiscussionsClarifying Roles & ResponsibilitiesHandling ResistanceCommunicating Change GoalsCoaching around EmotionsCoaching around SkillEmpowering EmployeesKeeping People MotivatedRecognizing SuccessAddressing Performance ProblemsRallying TeamsAs change communication is always within the context of a specific business change, we could include subsections to provide specific phrases for typical types of change, including:New Structure (i.e. Reorganizations, Layoffs, Outsourcing, Merger, New Teams)New Project (i.e. ERP and other Software Rollouts, Process Improvement, Innovation)New Leader (i.e. Succession, Merger/Acquisition, New Team Members)New Strategy (i.e. New Markets, New Corporate Positioning, New Products/Services)Part Three: Communicating Change VirtuallyWe are currently conducting research on what works when communicating change virtually. This section will include do’s and don’ts for communicating in a virtual environment and appropriate use of communication technology in the context of change (face to face, phone, email, web casts, video conferencing, and state of the art social networking tools).