Tips to Communicate Change Effectively to Staff

October 27, 2012 By

Tips to Communicate Change Effectively to Staff

Like many internal communications, you may find that communicating change is a very demanding part of your role. In today’s environment, change is a fact of life. Companies, resistant to change, risk losing their competitive edge.

The process of change is complex. As human beings we often feel threatened by change. But the irony is that without change we might still all be living in caves. We have to admit that change can be exciting as well as challenging as it stimulates innovation and creativity. Good for business and good for us. The question is, “Is it possible to assist in managing change without all the drama?”

Before engaging in communicating change, it is important to understand the psychology of change and your role in the change process. Change needs to be effectively managed and communicated so that it is embraced rather than rejected.

One of the more sensitive areas to manage is your senior management team. They may be driving the change initiative, but may not be so good at communicating ideas in a way that is accessible to all staff. They may not even have a framework for managing the change process. Part of your job is likely to be supporting your key stakeholders and making it easy for them to communicate effectively to staff at all levels.

How can I communicate change and minimise negative aspects of the change process?

There are change management methodologies, which have proven to be successful when implementing changes. These provide a framework for managing the change and change communications process. Select processes that suit you and your company’s culture and that are appropriate to the type of change you wish to implement.

When researching change management, it doesn’t take long to learn about trust. It takes time to win employee trust, which is the foundation of an employee’s commitment to the business. It takes time to build it but only moments to destroy it. Signs that trust has been eroded include lower productivity, poor morale, resistance to change, a strong rumor mill and good staff leaving. A good change management process with effective, honest internal communications can avoid all this and make implementing changes an exciting and rewarding challenge.

Understand the psychology of change

Don’t let the change curve become a roller coaster – Change is a complex issue. Many of us do not embrace the need for change, especially when things appear to be moving along just fine. We are firmly ensconced in our comfort zone and have a sense of wellbeing. In the business world, however, senior management needs to be at least one step ahead in order to maintain their organization’s competitive edge. Senior management may read ‘comfort zone’ as ‘stagnation’ and immediately start planning to innovate and improve.

Prior to announcing any change, someone has obviously thought about the current situation, analyzed solutions, and come up with a plan. This takes time. This plan is then often rolled out to the employees. Being suddenly confronted with a change plan, and feeling left out of the loop, makes many employees feel anxious.

During times of organizational change, employees can become less productive and question their job security. Their response to change is often emotionally charged and if change is not managed and communicated effectively the chances of success reduce significantly.

‘The Change Curve’ graphically describes the psychology of change. It lists stages that employees typically move through during a change initiative. These stages range from Satisfaction (I am happy as I am) through Denial (This isn’t relevant to my work), Resistance (I’m not having this), Exploration (Could this work for me?), Hope (I can see how I can make this work for me), right through to Commitment (This works for me and my colleagues). We mustn’t overlook the fact that when there are significant changes, people may need time to grieve for any perceived or real losses.

To communicate effectively, it is vital to recognize your employees’ mindset at any stage of the process, so that you can support them, validate their feelings and move them through to the commitment stage.

Typically at the start of any change initiative employees experience:

o Fear; e.g. of job loss or of increased responsibilities

o Frustration; e.g. with the process or with lack of information, or even

o Acceptance; e.g. they recognize that change is needed or inevitable.

Understanding the needs of your key stakeholder groups and where they are along the continuum of the change curve enables you to hone your communications plan. Selecting a framework with an iterative approach, allows you to make subtle (or not so subtle changes) so your role in the change process is as effective as possible.

Think strategically and clarify your messages

Why are we changing?

Even when you have the trust of your employees, they won’t get alongside and make changes unless you provide a compelling and logical reason to change. Your strategy should be to motivate staff through inspiration, not desperation.

Having a structured process is only part of your strategic planning. An iterative process that allows you to make continual improvements depending on the feedback you receive is an excellent approach. Acting on feedback demonstrates that you are not only listening to your employees but taking note of them too. This can be a powerful way of engaging staff and moving them through to the Exploration stage of the Change Curve.

Part of a successful change management process must include communicating strategically. This includes ensuring that your management team communicate effectively. A strategic move might be to measure how effective managers are at communicating key messages and to provide some training for those who perform poorly. Roger D’Aprix comments that as soon as some leaders meet resistance they either ignore it or want to squash it. He suggests a more strategic approach; one that embraces engagement through:

o Trust

o Compelling logic

o A match of actions and words

o Involvement of those who are affected

o Communicating a sense of confidence and minimizing fear

o Repetition of the primary themes.

Think about these building blocks when you are crafting key messages to support the change process.

To build on trust, you need to be honest. Miss the chance to make a compelling case for change, and you will find that employees will concoct their own, usually less flattering, reasons for change. Don’t assume that the negative people will necessarily sabotage your project. They will if you let them, but it is your job to win them over. Converts can become your greatest allies.

‘Walk the talk’, since actions speak louder than words. Engage those who are directly affected. You may not like some of the messages you hear, especially during the Denial and Resistance stages. However, acknowledging people’s fears is one way of minimizing anxiety, especially if you work in an environment of trust and honesty.

Your messages need to accentuate the positive and eliminate (or at last minimize) the negative. Repetition is a powerful tool. People only hear the message when they are ready to hear it. Those of us who are constantly bombarded with information have got really good at screening out noise. So, repeat your key messages until everyone gets it.

Customize and target messages to each your key stakeholder groups. Don’t forget to massage your messages to take into account staff mindset at each stage of the project.

Make sure you see the project through to the end. If this means giving extra support to some groups, or providing additional training, do it. The behaviors need to become embedded.

Sun Microsystems’ ‘Knowledge, Attitude, Action’ model provides a tactical approach based on moving staff from an existing position to a desired one. For example, seek to move:

o Current employee knowledge from ‘I don’t know our strategy’ to ‘I know where we are going’

o Current employee attitude from ‘I’m scared I’ll lose my job’ to ‘I’m excited about my future’

o Current employee action from ‘I just do what I’m told’ to ‘I proactively shape my work to help the company meet its goals.’

Clear, positive messages give a clear and positive direction.

If you do not have a strategic plan, staff may feel demotivated and suspicious. You could spend a lot of time and money on communications, but still find staff uncommunicative or feeding the rumor mill. Think strategically and craft clear messages and make your communications work for you.

Listen

Do staff need to offload and should you let them?

Many change management projects get stuck right into telling staff what changes to make and then start filling them in on all details. This type of insensitive approach can cause employees to feel shocked and ambushed. And this initial shock is often followed by behaviors such as denial, anger, ‘blocking’ and in some cases depression.

Staff need time to come to grips with what the change means to them before they can move on. Since these emotions are an expected part of the change curve, it is wise to provide some avenues whereby staff can have their say. Staff who perceive that they may lose their job, or be relocated, or redeployed need to voice their concerns. Listening to and acknowledging their views will assist them and you.

Part of your role, therefore, is to find ways of listening and listening proactively. You need to create opportunities to hear what people are thinking after any changes are announced. You can use a variety of approaches such as team meetings, interviews, or open forums. It is important not just to gather feedback but to probe deeper so that you really understand the issues and understand how these issues affect each individual. Communication should be a two-way street.

Staff may be exploring their feelings as well as their options, so making comments beginning with ‘but’ or trying to answer their questions does not help them or you to clarify the issues. So listen first and try to get to the heart of the matter and acknowledge what they feel.

Sometimes staff just need a place to let off steam. If you do not listen to staff and allow their feelings and ideas to be heard, then rumor and resentment can grow. Even if you have to communicate bad news, you can manage the process with dignity. Active and empathetic listening is paramount in this process.

Use face to face meetings for sensitive issues, and allow plenty of time to hear responses and to answer questions. If you need to comment, keep your message brief and clear.

Staff may think of additional questions or wish to make further comments once they have had time to assimilate your information. Time may not permit you or other managers to have continual face to face meetings, so you may need to think of other ways to ‘listen.’

Get engagement

I’ll just keep my head down and get on with my job?

Management should not to ignore the people side of change management. According to a Harvard Business Review study, 70 percent of change initiatives are not successful because organizations fail to manage the human reaction to change.

Engagement begins at the top and applies to all levels of management. Research shows that employees tend to trust, and would rather communicate with, their immediate manager or supervisor. The implication is that this level of management plays a vital role in communicating and implementing change. Getting all levels of your management team involved in the planning and shaping of communications will make them better project champions.

Engagement is not just for the management team, it is for the staff too. Engagement takes time and patience. And you need to start at the beginning of the change process.

Steve Lemmex suggests a two part strategy. The first part involves managing resistance to change. Key strategies, at this stage, include being open, honest and giving people time to express their feelings and to come to grips with the implications of the change.

The second part involves being patient and ensuring staff are ready for the Exploration stage. This is when you involve staff by asking them to explore the ‘what, why, when and how’ things need to be done. This inclusive approach maximizes buy in and validates your staff skills. It encourages engagement. Involving people and letting them take ownership drives acceptance and commitment. In addition, staff often find innovative ways to make things work that managers would never have thought of.

Getting engagement often requires sensitivity, especially if there is bad news for some. Make the best of difficult situations, even if this means acknowledging what has not gone well. Where there is loss, (staff leaving or projects being abandoned) give staff time to grieve. Acknowledging loss gives closure and allows people to move on.

If you are working on a project that has experienced communications problems you may want to signal a radical change and commit to improving communications from this point forward. Once you are certain of support for really effective and open communication, why not formally bid farewell to the old way and welcome a new beginning with a celebration.

Tackle issues honestly and positively. Try to view circumstances dispassionately as emotions can cloud issues. As staff become actively engaged in improving their circumstances, they will feel empowered and positive.

Getting the right message to the right audience

So what’s this got to do with me?

People are really good at hearing what they want to hear and screening out messages that they either don’t want to hear, or are not ready to hear. This makes your role in internal communications a complex one, particularly in times of change. When significant changes are being planned, you not only need to understand each stakeholder group but you also need to take into account individuals and how they may react on a personal level to the changes. You have to get the message and the language right.

You will have clear messages that support the planned changes and assist in moving the project forward. However before communicating these messages, conduct a systematic audit of your audiences. Consider their needs, the way change may affect them and their current mindset. Then adapt your messages to ensure each group understands each message as you intend them to, so that subsequently, each person acts or thinks in the way you desire.

Repetition is important. You don’t want to bombard staff with information, but you do want to keep up momentum, and you do want staff to receive the right information at the right time. Consider using a variety of ways to send and receive information and messages. Use push and pull strategies. Some information will need to be pushed out to staff, whereas other information can just be there for when staff need it.

If you are the intermediary in some of the communications, make sure you respond in a timely manner to all interested parties.

Get the right people involved in communicating the change initiative. This sends a strong message to staff. Engaging people who have an in-depth understanding of the way your business runs, who are team players and who staff respect will make your communications tasks so much easier. They can smooth transitions, provide context for their teams, model the right behaviors and act as project champions for you. So when your staff ask, ‘What’s this got to do with me? Your team has all the answers.

Communicate, communicate, communicate

Nobody told me

Human beings often screen out what they don’t want to hear, or what they are not ready to hear. No matter how vociferous you have been, you will always find someone who says, “Nobody told me!”

So what implication does this have for internal communications? Three strategies spring to mind:

1. Get sign off from staff to say they have received and understood information. At some stage you might need proof.

2. Take an iterative approach, so that key messages are repeated. Try delivering the same message through different channels, or presenting it differently, to prevent boredom setting in.

3. Make sure your strategy includes preparing people to receive information. Listening is often overlooked. Listen proactively, acknowledge emotions and ideas and receive feedback. Get staff actively involved and engaged to help them be receptive to your messages.

Communication can be about timing. Staff who are informed in advance are more likely to be excited and motivated than staff who find out about developments accidentally or through the media. It is not surprising that staff feel shocked or become angry if they find out about significant changes through a media announcement. They may feel they have lost face (which can be devastating, especially in some cultures). We all concede that there are many occasions when staff simply cannot be informed of everything. But what can you do to assist? One avenue may be to organize a staff briefing that occurs at the same time as a public announcement. You need to get your timing right, so you don’t make a bad situation worse by appearing to be insensitive or tardy.

When staff become aware of impending change, this is the time when leaks spring and the rumor mill fires up. When this happens, keep communication channels open, communicate up, down and across the lines of communication, and prepare managers well.

Effective communication is ongoing, two-way, and targeted. Brief is good. Don’t bog staff down with lengthy missives. They are busy enough with their work and dealing with the changes, without having to decipher complex, lengthy or irrelevant reports.

You can’t avoid the fact that sometimes you have bad news to communicate. If you have built up trust, communicate honestly and clearly, and have in place strategies to cope with staff reactions (loss, grief, dismay), then you and your staff are in the best position to deal with the situation in a productive and dignified way.

Keep communicating even when a change project is reaching its final stages. Make sure you see it through. Reinforcing new skills, practices or behaviors is a vital part of embedding the change. Don’t let staff revert back to the old ways by cutting the communications cord too soon.

Use the right communications channels

I found out my job was under threat by email!

As communications experts, you know how important it is to select the right communication channel. It is too easy to get so caught up in a busy project that you overlook some of the basics. So while planning your communications strategy, make sure you take time to select the right tool for the job.

Research shows that face to face communication is required if you really want staff to adopt new behaviors. Face to face is also the best channel for planning and dealing with sensitive issues. It allows you to gauge reactions, to get instant feedback and to ensure that everyone has received and understood the message.

You may not want to front up to people when you have to communicate bad news. But if you are honest and empathetic, and demonstrate that you are prepared to listen, to take note of feedback and to answer the hard questions, then you have delivered unpalatable news in the best possible way. They may not like the message, but they will respect you for fronting up.

Even if you are on a mission to save trees, don’t forget about paper. It is still best for complex and lengthy material. It is also very useful to support face to face and phone conversations.

The intranet is great for searching for and retrieving factual information. But take note, the intranet does not change behavior, you need the personal touch to do this.

Email, it is quick and convenient and overused. ‘Communicating change via email or voicemail is like ending a relationship that was – it’s just bad form. It leaves the recipient bewildered and angry, and whom ever is delivering the message looking very bad.’ (Veronica Apostolico, Ref 9). In addition, email is not always considered effective. A District Court ruling in Massachusetts on employee communications found against a company that communicated a change in procedure via email, because the message was not effectively communicated. If you do choose to convey important information via email, make sure you get some acknowledgment of receipt and understanding.

There are now so many channels to choose from, it’s a good idea to list the ones you have available, and then match the message to the channel. Using a variety of channels means that you can repeat messages, without looking as if you are hammering home a point (even if you are). It means that staff can’t ‘escape’ from what’s happening, or deny all knowledge.

There are other issues to consider when devising your communication strategy. What information needs to be pushed out to staff and what should staff ‘pull’ in? If you are pushing information, how can you be sure they have received it? And if you have provided information for staff to find and use as required, do you need to know how many ‘hits’ the information gets, so you can measure how much it is used?

Using project champions can be a powerful ploy. Project champions communicate really strongly by modeling behaviors, through conversing with staff, and demonstrating how proposed changes really work for your staff.

Use story telling to paint the picture

I just don’t see how that’ll work

‘… truly flexible, fully integrated, adaptable IT infrastructure using an SOA approach to develop modular, easily integrated and reused…blah blah blah…’ Does this mean anything to your staff, apart from those in IT?

How can you make this message sound exciting? Why not get them to visualize it and paint a picture instead? For example, ‘Just think after go-live, all you have to do is to click on the client contact, and from there you can complete all the transactions. You no longer have to open several applications, or photocopy documents, or scan in information. Our new system will do all that for you behind the scenes.’

Tell stories so staff can visualize outcomes. Many cultures prefer a narrative approach, rather that the abrupt, business-like approach that we often adopt. In everyday life, most people tell stories to get their point across, or illustrate their viewpoint by giving concrete examples.

Story telling is relevant to all stages of the change process. At the outset, encourage staff to visualize what the changes will look like. Then they can see exactly what needs to be done. Visualization is very powerful when it encapsulates a positive view of the future. This is especially useful when trying to get staff to move from ‘Could this work for me?” to ‘I can see how I can make this work for me.’

Building scenarios makes change seem possible and gets everyone past blinkered thinking. This is partly because many people are not comfortable with abstract ideas and theory. Making your project concrete makes it real, and making it real makes it happen. Creative visualization has long been recognized as an effective tool for planning and implementing change. So add it to your toolbox.

Make it easy for management to communicate effectively?

I don’t have time to see everyone.

Don’t ignore the people side of change. Change management is usually studied from a technical viewpoint. For example, how can the changes be implemented and what processes, procedures or approaches are required. Buzz words such as process re-engineering and corporate re-structuring appear to deny human involvement. But change affects staff and the effect on staff cannot be ignored. Managers need to hone their communications skills so they communicate with tact and diplomacy.

Work as a team and plan alliances that will help you smooth the path to change. Note that ‘data from 25,000 employees, in diverse industries, consistently rank front-line managers No 1 in credibility. Employees are also more comfortable speaking up with questions and ideas to their immediate manager than with any other management level’. If senior management does not have time to see everyone, maybe they should delegate some communications to their front line managers. Train managers to deliver the right message to their unique audience. Their role is to provide context around key messages in a way that suits their team’s style and emotions.

You may need to train managers to play an active role in planning and delivering messages about change initiatives. This training could include motivational techniques, team building, negotiation, delegation or dealing with conflict. Managers need to understand that resistance is part of the normal reaction to change. Anticipating this through proactive planning enables management to prepare their staff for change, so that they move quickly along the change curve, from Denial and Resistance, to Exploration, Hope and Commitment. Managers, who are movers and shakers in the change management process, may need a reminder that many staff need time to come to terms with change. Planning some ‘being patient’ time could save time in the long run.

Contrary to popular belief, management often find it very time-consuming to write reports to staff, or even if they find time, you, as internal communications, may feel that their language or approach makes their report inaccessible. Support them and make it easy for them. Having a variety of communication channels available is very helpful, especially if you select approaches and tools that make everything as quick and intuitive as possible.

If your CEO is not able to meet face to face to deliver a sensitive message, then maybe a video presentation would be an effective alternative for conveying the message. Staff will still be able to hear the emotion and see the passion. Good communicators can instill confidence and enthusiasm, and in so doing they still the rumor mill and quell unfounded anxieties.

If writing a report seems too formal or time-consuming, then consider submitting a short article in your company newsletter of magazine. A slightly less formal format may assist management to use a more ‘user-friendly’ and ‘human’ approach.

Success can be enhanced if managers play an active role in both planning and delivering messages about change initiatives.

Measure results, celebrate success

I am sure that we got the message across. But what did actually happen?

Measurement is critical in times of change and the best communication strategies involve measuring for effectiveness. It is important to understand whether messages are hitting the mark and to confirm that people are on the same page as you (or at least the page you expected them to be on).

Your first step is to list the desired outcomes of your change communications project, and decide how you will measure the success of each outcome. And do you have current data to use as a comparison?

You probably want to measure:

o Staff attitudes (to the project, to how well their managers get the message across)

o Staff emotions (where they are on the change curve?)

o Level of skill development or knowledge acquisition

o How well is your communications strategy working?

o Have messages been received, read and understood?

If you measure every step of the way, you can tweak messages and change tack when an approach is not working as well as it might. Regular surveys that give a snapshot of how people are feeling allow you to track the overall trend, otherwise it is easy to let your opinion of progress be colored by the ‘squeaky wheels’ in your organization;

You need to gather qualitative as well as quantitative data, and decide on effective ways to present and use the information. Proof of progress validates your planning, informs management and motivates staff.

Tips to Communicate Change Effectively to Staff

Tips to Communicate Change Effectively to Staff

Sarah Perry is a Director of Snap Communications, http://www.snapcomms.com, a company which provides specialist Internal Communications tools and Employee Communications Solutions.

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The Paradigm of Society – Do We Need Change?

October 12, 2012 By

The Paradigm of Society – Do We Need Change?

We each have our own paradigm, which is our whole system of ideas and beliefs that we live by and eat, breath and sleep by.

For many this is modified by the general paradigm of society as covered in schools, the news and what you generally see around you.

Our paradigm encompasses our beliefs and attitudes and how these are represented in our lives by the things we do day by day, month by month, year by year.

Our paradigm determines how we live and how prosperous we are, how competent we are, how other people view us and how we view other people and our lives and environments.

It determines how much we have in the bank, what assets we have and what our financial life looks like.

It is our REALITY.

Some people get just a little tired of the same old story in their lives and are looking for something to shake up the existing reality a little and give some new insights on things.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have some way that you could use to free yourself from societies’ fixed paradigm that has you trapped into the rat-race?

And maybe from other agreements which you just cannot seem to break no matter what?

There exists a deeper understanding than what is seen in the news media about the way ‘things really are’.

When you find these materials you can have the beginning of a personal transformation. A transformation into who you really are minus the problems and stress.

Imagine the best and most intense YOU, one that does not carry around the baggage of yesterday or the fears of tomorrow… a YOU that is free to move forward and achieve your goals or dreams?

Scholastic education in the modern system is designed to make you understand the way society wants you to understand so you can be relatively the same as everyone else.

This is so you will not rock the boat, so you can get a good job and be a good employee working for someone else (making them wealthy).

It is so you can get credit cards, bank loans and mortgages (so banks can profit immensely, getting rich from your money while you squeeze by week to week).

So you can retire at 65 years old and get a pension from your company or your government to support the 10 different drugs you will need to counteract the effects of other drugs that have been prescribed by the best doctors.

Doctors who are controlled by the medical establishment who have made it illegal to say you can cure anything and who have made it illegal for doctors to step outside the use of their expensive substances and procedures to treat people who are ill.

Well, if you have ever felt that there was something wrong with this picture, YOU WERE RIGHT.

More than 80% of the population go along in their lives, basically controlled by society in terms of media (constant ‘orders’ and messages of what to be interested in, what to think and what to spend your money on).

Controlled by their jobs (40 hours per week working for someone else) and by banks (working their whole life to pay interest on credit cards, loans and mortgages, essentially paying DOUBLE for everything – once to the store and once to banks in interest.

Most peoples lives are NOT described by the phrase ‘self-determination’ (your actions would be determined by YOU with the full knowledge of what is happening and where you are going!)

In other words, society is not set up to MAKE YOU WIN.

It is not set up to make you free and independent. It is set up to keep you more or less under control.

How about a new paradigm? One that calls a spade and spade and calls for us to unashamedly and boldly take control of our lives and move forward toward our goals.

It is an awareness and a realization of what REALLY IS and of WHAT CAN BE as opposed to what APPEARS TO BE and what others what us to think.

Everything you have ever wanted to BE lies dormant inside you, waiting to be released.

Everything you have ever wanted to do CAN BE DONE.

Everything you have ever wanted to HAVE lies waiting out there to be created, first in your mind, then attracted to you by universal laws that you can know and USE.

Shift your dreams from a state of ‘wishes’ to a state of reality.

Take control of TIME the way you would like to. TIME IS MONEY. And time is created or wasted by the things that you do and how you do them. Your very lifestyle hangs in the balance on this.

You can learn the small shifts in thinking and DOING that will lead to your personal and financial freedom.

And just being aware of these things is the first small step in undoing the effects of a lifetime of mis-education.

The answer lies in self-education and you will see more on this in future articles.

The Paradigm of Society – Do We Need Change?

The Paradigm of Society - Do We Need Change?

Ron Sedlak specializes in the Law of Attraction and Success creation through self-education. He is President of Wealth Building Enterprises, which offers a free one-year self-education subscription on the Law of Attraction: http://www.wealthbuildingenterprise.com/oneyear.html

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What is Mindfulness?

The concept of mindfulness has actually been around for thousands of years. Its origins can be found in the earliest Buddhist teachings (2500 years ago). It has been used over the centuries in traditional eastern contemplative practices like Hatha Yoga and other meditation practices. Zen masters taught mindfulness to enlightened monks in the ultimate acceptance of their own existence.

However, the way we use the term here, Mindfulness should not be confused with inward focused mysticism or spirituality. Today Mindfulness not only refers to the acceptance of one’s reality but what one does with that reality. As we use it, Mindfulness is the skill of living in the moment and relating to the world in a nonjudgmental and reflexive as oppose to reactive fashion.

In recent years, science and westernization have adapted Mindfulness so that it can be cultivated daily, used without years of practice, and be compatible and useful within almost any modern human activity. Mindfulness is simply an introspective method for grounding your thoughts, emotions and behaviors in the reality you are currently experiencing, so you can stand back, observe, understand yourself more fully and take care of your needs.

The act of Mindfulness is the ability to focus your attention on your inner thoughts while letting go of past or future worries. It will take some practice to witness your thoughts popping up and then going away without self-criticism, but it can be achieved by most people without extensive training, just daily practice. For instance, just watching your breathing can have a calming effect on your mind and slowly restore your sense of well-being. When you quiet your thoughts about what you have to do and your feelings dictating what you want to do, your intuitive mind takes over. Here you gently move from dwelling on the past or future to being focused on what you are doing right at this moment. Being in this state of Mindfulness allows you to listen to your gut and discover what you truly need. Mindfulness allows you to acknowledge your feelings, witness your thoughts and redirect yourself away from distraction.

We live in era of constant upheaval and change. Actually, most of us get through life on autopilot. Our brain gets filled with restless ideas and memories that are hard to keep track of especially when we become stressed. We tend to “tune out” and just “try to get through the day.”

Everyone’s mind naturally wanders, but when you practice Mindfulness you are aware of your mind wandering and can gradually redirect it back to the present. Mindfulness allows you to gently quiet all the noise in your head. Paying attention to your breathing, tracking your thoughts, or scanning your body for tension are just few of the many ways to reduce mental chatter. With Mindful practice, you can learn to remove the tendency to jump to conclusions, make assumptions and idle judgments, and recognize that your negative or positive feelings are coming from you and not the external world around you.

Dr Marsha Linehan, founder of Evidence Based Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) says we need to adopt a “Reflexive Mind” in order to cope with distress and change. Here, your mind is trained to act like Teflon, nothing sticks to it long enough to attach. Mindfulness has been shown to bring calmness and patience to those who embrace the practice. People who practice daily Mindfulness are processing life rather than analyzing its content. The ultimate state of Mindfulness is mental resiliency.

In fact Mindfulness can also help you stay focused and aware even when you are engaged in mundane activities such as driving, eating, and walking. Research has shown its positive effects on boosting the immune system, managing pain, reducing stress and cultivating personal awareness.

A beginning Mindful sequence may involve:

- Sitting in a quiet and comfortable location

October 6, 2012 By

- Thinking about where you are and what you are doing at this very moment

- Closing your eyes

- Allowing thoughts about what already or will happen move in an out of your consciousness with your non-judging mind and gentle persuasion

- Focusing on the sensations of breathing each breath and noticing what that does to your belly, nostrils and lungs

- Making note of every thought and feeling that comes up and then returning to your breathing to further anchor your attention

- Observing your mind but, not getting stuck on any one particular thought or feeling as your breathing becomes more natural, full and steady

- Opening your eyes and looking at something you have seen before with a fresh perspective.

What are Affirmations?

Affirmations are declarative statements about something you now know, did, or intend to do. When you use an Affirmation you are not only being aware of your thoughts, but you are taking conscious control of them. When you say, write, read or even think of an Affirmation, you are, in effect, taking steps to acknowledge what is worthwhile about you.

Studies have shown that most of our daily thoughts are negative. Working with Affirmations makes you aware of how self-defeating thoughts chip away at your creativity. Affirmations help you create a new reality and visualize what you essentially want out of life.

Negativity can threaten your health and happiness. In fact, when you are not paying attention to your thinking, you are more liable to pessimistic and not realistic or optimistic. The more you are aware of what you are actually telling yourself, the more upbeat you will sound. Using command based phraseology, keeping the Affirmation in the present tense and making it reality based offers you more reinforcement. Repeatedly telling yourself that you are, or will be, deserving, healthy, and successful, the more your positive determination will flow. You’re more likely to see a bounce in your step and a lift in your life by using daily Affirmations.

What are Mindful Affirmations?

” Mindful Affirmations ” are not just inspirational sayings. We use the term as thought provoking phrases that loosely derive from Mindfulness ideas of Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, who founded the medical and meditative models of Mindfulness. He came up with Eight Stations of Mindful Meditation:

- Smile

- Breathe

- Arrive

- Attend

- Find the essence

- Slow down

- Listen

- See things with a new perspective

Mindful Affirmations incorporate one or more of these active stations into each passage in order to support the Mindful notion of keeping an “open mind,” where possibilities have no limits. They are not meditations as used by Dr Zinn and others. Mindful Affirmations take ordinary Affirmations like “Your self-confidence will carry you on,” and make them more reality based so the reader can gradually acknowledge and accept the truth about their life. An example of expanding the above Affirmation into a Mindful Affirmation would be “I barely thought of my own self-worth until I saw myself going backwards in life. Letting myself go and losing all I had gained made me feel stuck and dependent. I now see how harnessing my self-esteem can help me not only find my way but, carry me through life.”

This phraseology helps to evoke not only the reader’s subconscious mind, but keeps the reader focused on the key of Mindfulness, just being in the moment.

Pain is about growth and is inevitable. Unfortunately, too many of us have become addicted to suffering… but suffering is optional! Mindful Affirmations make our conscious and subconscious minds look at our pain and release our fears about the unknown. Our inner subconscious mind has the desire for change but doesn’t know just what to change or how to do it. Our outer conscious mind desires to be relaxed, in balance and accept our state of affairs. When working in concert our two minds remove expectations/accusations and allow us to gently examine our feelings, thoughts and behaviors about the past without dwelling or being judgmental.

When Mindful Affirmations are written in the first person they can help the reader not only empathize with the writer, but slowly begin to accept and validate their own pain, saying inside themselves, “I guess I am not alone.” Mindful Affirmations not only break down the reader’s self-imposed isolation but offer them options for change such as in the passage, “I now see that responding rather than reacting will build a healthy interpersonal world for myself.”

It has been my clinical experience that each time I ask a patient to read a Mindful Affirmation, they mention to me that they now see their old problem in a different way. One of the core values of Mindfulness is to be able to see yourself and the world around you with a “new set of eyes.”

The focus is on accepting, commitment and learning (refers to “ACT” therapy) a new way of living or looking at life. Mindful Affirmations help the reader’s mind stay engaged while supporting the surrender of old baggage and unfulfilled expectations.

Mindful Affirmations use positive assertions like “I feel happy,” but allow our present awareness to reinforce our declaration giving us clarity of thought to see our options. It is a coping strategy. For example, the statement “When I am stressed I make myself sit and take notice of my surroundings,” supports your inner desire to stay calm and centered rather than be overwhelmed and scattered.

The book takes Affirmations to the next level by first talking about how “I” (the reader) arrived at the state of not being able to take control, what resulted, and how “I” plan to take command of my life in the future.

Using these three components to the Affirmation not only supports the drive to do better, but plants the seed more firmly that “I” will make progress and “I” can learn from my past. Mindful Affirmations are cyclical in nature. Each time a negative feeling comes up the reader has a choice to make good or bad decisions. The truth is that we are more likely to accomplish what we set out to do, if we are keenly aware of how the past made us feel and what consequences may lie ahead.

Mindful Affirmations help you not only face reality, but look beyond it by challenging your old mental dialogue with a new perspective. Mindful Affirmations allow you to step back from life enough to examine regrets and embrace new options. Mindful Affirmations help you discover that who you really are is what keeps you alive, vital and present.

Dr Unger’s new book “Presence of Mind – Mindful Affirmations” is available at the website Store.

Real Psych Solutions ( http://www.realpsychsolutions.com ) provides Real Psychology Solutions: Practical Self-Help Materials for Mental Health and Living Well and is physically located at The Center for Empowerment in Dana Point, CA, but has a global online following. It was founded by Arlene Unger, PhD (PSY) and Stefan Unger, PhD in 2009.

Real Psych Solutions aims to provide useful and practical self-help materials based on the work of licensed mental health and medical professionals, certified lifestyle and wellness coaches and other recognized experts. We have lots of Free Materials and Resources from many Authors, as well as an online Store with valuable and insightful, but economically priced, items.

? 2010 Arlene Unger, PhD. All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced “as is”, i.e. without change or fees.

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“One comes to believe whatever one repeats to oneself sufficiently often, whether the statement be true or false. It comes to be dominating thought in one’s mind.”

– Robert Collier

Repetition of words creates repetition of thoughts.

Repetition of thoughts creates reality.

By intentionally choosing the words that wallpaper your mind, you change the tone of the room in which you live and you change the life you are living.

******* The Power of Words *******

We typically dilute our words by drawing them from vague and conflicted states of mind. We present a muddy impression on the creative medium in which we live and our reality mirrors our dull efforts. This is so easy to remedy that you may actually shock yourself with your radical improvement in results as you become more intentional with your affirmations.

Words are not just signposts that point to meaning. When we use them to simply report what we observe it’s like using a racecar to deliver newspapers.

Words are powerful instruments of manifestation. When given an open road they will perform extraordinary feats.

******* Eliminate These Words *******

We use certain words habitually and somewhat unconsciously. By eliminating them from your affirmations, you will automatically begin implementing 2 of the 3 ways to supercharge your affirmations, without even yet knowing what these 3 ways are.

Here are the words to eliminate:

no, not, don’t, doesn’t, never, won’t, can’t, stop, quit, will, am going to, should, want to, plan to, hope to.

Every time you create an affirmation, check for these words. If you find them, reword your affirmation without them.

******* 3 Superchargers for Your Affirmations *******

Supercharger #1

==>Always Affirm in the Present Tense

When you are creating an affirmation, you are like an artist creating a painting. Whatever you affirm with your paintbrush becomes the reality on the canvas. As an affirmation artist, you do not have colors on your palette. Your words are your paint. You are pulling potential realities from the formless realm into the manifest realm through the narrow birth canal of your carefully chosen words.

Choose your words in the present tense so that the reality you choose becomes experienced now. Now is the only time that has the mystical power to pour forth a manifestation. If you word your affirmations in the future by saying, “I will…,” you keep that carrot dangling in the fictitious future and you pull the plug on the power of your affirmations. A surefire way to begin an affirmation is with the sacred words, “I am…”

Supercharger #2

==> Always Affirm in the Positive

You are bothering to create an affirmation because you are living something unwanted and you desire a change. It is only natural that you would understand your desire as not wanting what you’ve got. But if you point your affirmation toward getting rid of a habit or condition, if you say what you will not do, or if you affirm that something will go away, you are actually chaining yourself to it.

It simply does not work.

In fact you’d be better off not to affirm at all because this sort of negative affirmation is like affirming the opposite of what you want. Remember, to affirm means to make firm. It is the process of bringing things into form. Remember also that the universe does not hear the word “no.” So whatever you are talking about, whether you are affirming or denying it, you are in effect, affirming it.

Instead of saying, “I will quit smoking,” which is both in the future and negative, say something like:

All my actions are healthy and intentional. I choose my actions and I enjoy all my choices. I am in charge of my actions. I have healthy life affirming habits. I love being in charge of my life.

Supercharger #3

==> Feel as if it’s Already True

Once you have a well-chosen phrase to affirm, one that is positive, in the present tense, and feels good when you consider it, enter into its world. Step into the affirmation as if it were already your reality. When you say it, imagine that it is already true. Feel how you would feel if it were already manifest. Steps 1 and 2 build a powerful rocket. Step 3 lights the fuse and sends it off with a blast.

Affirmations can literally change your life. They are free. Everyone has equal access to them, and they work day and night, always ready and willing to bring your good to you. Use these 3 superchargers every time you do an affirmation process and watch your life transform before our eyes.

October 2, 2012 By

Find out more about the power of affirmations at the Affirmative Contemplation website at http://www.AffirmativeContemplation.com . You can receive Dr. Rebbie Straubing’s Free e-Course, 7 Secrets for Manifesting Your Heart’s Desire, at http://www.yofa.net/7secret.html . Dr. Rebbie Straubing is a workshop leader, Abraham Coach, and inspirational writer.

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Affirmation statements -we hear them spoken often by motivational speakers, authors, writers etc., but what can we personally do to harness the power of affirmations in our own lives?

Think about a time in your life when you desired to make a change – something major, like finding a new job, moving to a new city or home, or something less momentous like a New Year’s resolution to improve your overall health. Can you think of a past experience like that? Now, think about the tools that you used or steps that you took to help guide you through that transition and keep you focused on achieving your goals while making that change.

These tools in effect, involved you setting in motion a series of events to accomplish the goals you’d set out for yourself, and one of the easiest ways to achieve success is to create affirmations.

Affirmations are very easy to use and quite powerful once you get the hang of practicing this daily exercise. Affirmations keep you focused on what’s important to you and help you achieve positive transitions. Basically an affirmation is a declaration that something is already true and has come to fruition in your life in the present moment. You have to believe what you are looking to achieve or obtain has already arrived in order for ‘it’ to show up in your life.

If your desire is to create personal well-being, first choose a phrase that describes what you desire. For example, if you desire to adopt a healthier lifestyle, then your affirmation statement could say, “I feel good and look good when I live a healthy lifestyle.” Or “I enjoy the great feelings I get from exercising daily.” Short powerful statements are more focused and work much better to bring about results than long, drawn-out paragraphs.

There are some rules to follow when creating an affirmation that I’d like to share with you.

Rule # 1: The phrase must be in the present tense, such as “I feel good”, as opposed to “I will feel good” which implies that at some point in the future you ‘might’ achieve your goal. Remember to phrase your affirmation as if your desire.

Rule #2: The statement must always be written from a positive perspective, instead of a negative one. For example, you wouldn’t say “I don’t feel good when I am not healthy” as this places your health – which you are trying to change – in a negative context. Always phrase your desire/affirmation statement in a positive context and in the present tense.

Rule #3: Repeat often. After you create an affirmation, write it down on something that you can keep with you, like a notebook or card to put in your purse or wallet, or place it somewhere that you look at often throughout your day such as on your bathroom mirror or your desk at work. Make sure that you read your affirmation statements as many times during your day as possible.

Studies have shown that using the power of affirmations can lower stress and I have found this to be true in my own life. When I get clear about what I want in my life and focus on my desires with affirmations every day, I am more content and peaceful. What we focus on grows, so the more you focus your attention on your affirmations, the more likely you are to create positive changes in your life and achieve your dreams.

My favorite book on affirmations and the power of healing is Louise Hay’s, You Can Heal Your Life. In this fascinating book you can learn more about the healing power of affirmations and how you can harness them to improve your overall health and well-being. And frankly, who wouldn’t like to live a healthier, more serene life in these turbulent times?

Using the power behind affirmations can truly change your life for the better. Put this into practice this week by writing down three short affirmations about three areas you’d like to make positive changes in your life. Be sure to state your desires in the present tense and in a positive way. Practice repeating these statements as many times as you can for 7 days and see what wonderful changes reveal themselves in your life.

September 27, 2012 By

Inspired by her passion to support others on their own personal growth journey, Carolee Laffoon founded Affirmations To Go, a company which encourages people to create lasting personal affirmation products to carry with them daily to keep them focused on their goals, hopes and dreams. Carolee publishes a monthly newsletter “Affirmation Inspirations” to share her favorite affirmations, inspirations, and product specials. Visit Affirmations To Go and sign up to receive her newsletter as well as participate in her special monthly Affirmations product giveaway.

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Tips to Communicate Change Effectively to Staff

September 24, 2012 By

Tips to Communicate Change Effectively to Staff

Like many internal communications, you may find that communicating change is a very demanding part of your role. In today’s environment, change is a fact of life. Companies, resistant to change, risk losing their competitive edge.

The process of change is complex. As human beings we often feel threatened by change. But the irony is that without change we might still all be living in caves. We have to admit that change can be exciting as well as challenging as it stimulates innovation and creativity. Good for business and good for us. The question is, “Is it possible to assist in managing change without all the drama?”

Before engaging in communicating change, it is important to understand the psychology of change and your role in the change process. Change needs to be effectively managed and communicated so that it is embraced rather than rejected.

One of the more sensitive areas to manage is your senior management team. They may be driving the change initiative, but may not be so good at communicating ideas in a way that is accessible to all staff. They may not even have a framework for managing the change process. Part of your job is likely to be supporting your key stakeholders and making it easy for them to communicate effectively to staff at all levels.

How can I communicate change and minimise negative aspects of the change process?

There are change management methodologies, which have proven to be successful when implementing changes. These provide a framework for managing the change and change communications process. Select processes that suit you and your company’s culture and that are appropriate to the type of change you wish to implement.

When researching change management, it doesn’t take long to learn about trust. It takes time to win employee trust, which is the foundation of an employee’s commitment to the business. It takes time to build it but only moments to destroy it. Signs that trust has been eroded include lower productivity, poor morale, resistance to change, a strong rumor mill and good staff leaving. A good change management process with effective, honest internal communications can avoid all this and make implementing changes an exciting and rewarding challenge.

Understand the psychology of change

Don’t let the change curve become a roller coaster – Change is a complex issue. Many of us do not embrace the need for change, especially when things appear to be moving along just fine. We are firmly ensconced in our comfort zone and have a sense of wellbeing. In the business world, however, senior management needs to be at least one step ahead in order to maintain their organization’s competitive edge. Senior management may read ‘comfort zone’ as ‘stagnation’ and immediately start planning to innovate and improve.

Prior to announcing any change, someone has obviously thought about the current situation, analyzed solutions, and come up with a plan. This takes time. This plan is then often rolled out to the employees. Being suddenly confronted with a change plan, and feeling left out of the loop, makes many employees feel anxious.

During times of organizational change, employees can become less productive and question their job security. Their response to change is often emotionally charged and if change is not managed and communicated effectively the chances of success reduce significantly.

‘The Change Curve’ graphically describes the psychology of change. It lists stages that employees typically move through during a change initiative. These stages range from Satisfaction (I am happy as I am) through Denial (This isn’t relevant to my work), Resistance (I’m not having this), Exploration (Could this work for me?), Hope (I can see how I can make this work for me), right through to Commitment (This works for me and my colleagues). We mustn’t overlook the fact that when there are significant changes, people may need time to grieve for any perceived or real losses.

To communicate effectively, it is vital to recognize your employees’ mindset at any stage of the process, so that you can support them, validate their feelings and move them through to the commitment stage.

Typically at the start of any change initiative employees experience:

o Fear; e.g. of job loss or of increased responsibilities

o Frustration; e.g. with the process or with lack of information, or even

o Acceptance; e.g. they recognize that change is needed or inevitable.

Understanding the needs of your key stakeholder groups and where they are along the continuum of the change curve enables you to hone your communications plan. Selecting a framework with an iterative approach, allows you to make subtle (or not so subtle changes) so your role in the change process is as effective as possible.

Think strategically and clarify your messages

Why are we changing?

Even when you have the trust of your employees, they won’t get alongside and make changes unless you provide a compelling and logical reason to change. Your strategy should be to motivate staff through inspiration, not desperation.

Having a structured process is only part of your strategic planning. An iterative process that allows you to make continual improvements depending on the feedback you receive is an excellent approach. Acting on feedback demonstrates that you are not only listening to your employees but taking note of them too. This can be a powerful way of engaging staff and moving them through to the Exploration stage of the Change Curve.

Part of a successful change management process must include communicating strategically. This includes ensuring that your management team communicate effectively. A strategic move might be to measure how effective managers are at communicating key messages and to provide some training for those who perform poorly. Roger D’Aprix comments that as soon as some leaders meet resistance they either ignore it or want to squash it. He suggests a more strategic approach; one that embraces engagement through:

o Trust

o Compelling logic

o A match of actions and words

o Involvement of those who are affected

o Communicating a sense of confidence and minimizing fear

o Repetition of the primary themes.

Think about these building blocks when you are crafting key messages to support the change process.

To build on trust, you need to be honest. Miss the chance to make a compelling case for change, and you will find that employees will concoct their own, usually less flattering, reasons for change. Don’t assume that the negative people will necessarily sabotage your project. They will if you let them, but it is your job to win them over. Converts can become your greatest allies.

‘Walk the talk’, since actions speak louder than words. Engage those who are directly affected. You may not like some of the messages you hear, especially during the Denial and Resistance stages. However, acknowledging people’s fears is one way of minimizing anxiety, especially if you work in an environment of trust and honesty.

Your messages need to accentuate the positive and eliminate (or at last minimize) the negative. Repetition is a powerful tool. People only hear the message when they are ready to hear it. Those of us who are constantly bombarded with information have got really good at screening out noise. So, repeat your key messages until everyone gets it.

Customize and target messages to each your key stakeholder groups. Don’t forget to massage your messages to take into account staff mindset at each stage of the project.

Make sure you see the project through to the end. If this means giving extra support to some groups, or providing additional training, do it. The behaviors need to become embedded.

Sun Microsystems’ ‘Knowledge, Attitude, Action’ model provides a tactical approach based on moving staff from an existing position to a desired one. For example, seek to move:

o Current employee knowledge from ‘I don’t know our strategy’ to ‘I know where we are going’

o Current employee attitude from ‘I’m scared I’ll lose my job’ to ‘I’m excited about my future’

o Current employee action from ‘I just do what I’m told’ to ‘I proactively shape my work to help the company meet its goals.’

Clear, positive messages give a clear and positive direction.

If you do not have a strategic plan, staff may feel demotivated and suspicious. You could spend a lot of time and money on communications, but still find staff uncommunicative or feeding the rumor mill. Think strategically and craft clear messages and make your communications work for you.

Listen

Do staff need to offload and should you let them?

Many change management projects get stuck right into telling staff what changes to make and then start filling them in on all details. This type of insensitive approach can cause employees to feel shocked and ambushed. And this initial shock is often followed by behaviors such as denial, anger, ‘blocking’ and in some cases depression.

Staff need time to come to grips with what the change means to them before they can move on. Since these emotions are an expected part of the change curve, it is wise to provide some avenues whereby staff can have their say. Staff who perceive that they may lose their job, or be relocated, or redeployed need to voice their concerns. Listening to and acknowledging their views will assist them and you.

Part of your role, therefore, is to find ways of listening and listening proactively. You need to create opportunities to hear what people are thinking after any changes are announced. You can use a variety of approaches such as team meetings, interviews, or open forums. It is important not just to gather feedback but to probe deeper so that you really understand the issues and understand how these issues affect each individual. Communication should be a two-way street.

Staff may be exploring their feelings as well as their options, so making comments beginning with ‘but’ or trying to answer their questions does not help them or you to clarify the issues. So listen first and try to get to the heart of the matter and acknowledge what they feel.

Sometimes staff just need a place to let off steam. If you do not listen to staff and allow their feelings and ideas to be heard, then rumor and resentment can grow. Even if you have to communicate bad news, you can manage the process with dignity. Active and empathetic listening is paramount in this process.

Use face to face meetings for sensitive issues, and allow plenty of time to hear responses and to answer questions. If you need to comment, keep your message brief and clear.

Staff may think of additional questions or wish to make further comments once they have had time to assimilate your information. Time may not permit you or other managers to have continual face to face meetings, so you may need to think of other ways to ‘listen.’

Get engagement

I’ll just keep my head down and get on with my job?

Management should not to ignore the people side of change management. According to a Harvard Business Review study, 70 percent of change initiatives are not successful because organizations fail to manage the human reaction to change.

Engagement begins at the top and applies to all levels of management. Research shows that employees tend to trust, and would rather communicate with, their immediate manager or supervisor. The implication is that this level of management plays a vital role in communicating and implementing change. Getting all levels of your management team involved in the planning and shaping of communications will make them better project champions.

Engagement is not just for the management team, it is for the staff too. Engagement takes time and patience. And you need to start at the beginning of the change process.

Steve Lemmex suggests a two part strategy. The first part involves managing resistance to change. Key strategies, at this stage, include being open, honest and giving people time to express their feelings and to come to grips with the implications of the change.

The second part involves being patient and ensuring staff are ready for the Exploration stage. This is when you involve staff by asking them to explore the ‘what, why, when and how’ things need to be done. This inclusive approach maximizes buy in and validates your staff skills. It encourages engagement. Involving people and letting them take ownership drives acceptance and commitment. In addition, staff often find innovative ways to make things work that managers would never have thought of.

Getting engagement often requires sensitivity, especially if there is bad news for some. Make the best of difficult situations, even if this means acknowledging what has not gone well. Where there is loss, (staff leaving or projects being abandoned) give staff time to grieve. Acknowledging loss gives closure and allows people to move on.

If you are working on a project that has experienced communications problems you may want to signal a radical change and commit to improving communications from this point forward. Once you are certain of support for really effective and open communication, why not formally bid farewell to the old way and welcome a new beginning with a celebration.

Tackle issues honestly and positively. Try to view circumstances dispassionately as emotions can cloud issues. As staff become actively engaged in improving their circumstances, they will feel empowered and positive.

Getting the right message to the right audience

So what’s this got to do with me?

People are really good at hearing what they want to hear and screening out messages that they either don’t want to hear, or are not ready to hear. This makes your role in internal communications a complex one, particularly in times of change. When significant changes are being planned, you not only need to understand each stakeholder group but you also need to take into account individuals and how they may react on a personal level to the changes. You have to get the message and the language right.

You will have clear messages that support the planned changes and assist in moving the project forward. However before communicating these messages, conduct a systematic audit of your audiences. Consider their needs, the way change may affect them and their current mindset. Then adapt your messages to ensure each group understands each message as you intend them to, so that subsequently, each person acts or thinks in the way you desire.

Repetition is important. You don’t want to bombard staff with information, but you do want to keep up momentum, and you do want staff to receive the right information at the right time. Consider using a variety of ways to send and receive information and messages. Use push and pull strategies. Some information will need to be pushed out to staff, whereas other information can just be there for when staff need it.

If you are the intermediary in some of the communications, make sure you respond in a timely manner to all interested parties.

Get the right people involved in communicating the change initiative. This sends a strong message to staff. Engaging people who have an in-depth understanding of the way your business runs, who are team players and who staff respect will make your communications tasks so much easier. They can smooth transitions, provide context for their teams, model the right behaviors and act as project champions for you. So when your staff ask, ‘What’s this got to do with me? Your team has all the answers.

Communicate, communicate, communicate

Nobody told me

Human beings often screen out what they don’t want to hear, or what they are not ready to hear. No matter how vociferous you have been, you will always find someone who says, “Nobody told me!”

So what implication does this have for internal communications? Three strategies spring to mind:

1. Get sign off from staff to say they have received and understood information. At some stage you might need proof.

2. Take an iterative approach, so that key messages are repeated. Try delivering the same message through different channels, or presenting it differently, to prevent boredom setting in.

3. Make sure your strategy includes preparing people to receive information. Listening is often overlooked. Listen proactively, acknowledge emotions and ideas and receive feedback. Get staff actively involved and engaged to help them be receptive to your messages.

Communication can be about timing. Staff who are informed in advance are more likely to be excited and motivated than staff who find out about developments accidentally or through the media. It is not surprising that staff feel shocked or become angry if they find out about significant changes through a media announcement. They may feel they have lost face (which can be devastating, especially in some cultures). We all concede that there are many occasions when staff simply cannot be informed of everything. But what can you do to assist? One avenue may be to organize a staff briefing that occurs at the same time as a public announcement. You need to get your timing right, so you don’t make a bad situation worse by appearing to be insensitive or tardy.

When staff become aware of impending change, this is the time when leaks spring and the rumor mill fires up. When this happens, keep communication channels open, communicate up, down and across the lines of communication, and prepare managers well.

Effective communication is ongoing, two-way, and targeted. Brief is good. Don’t bog staff down with lengthy missives. They are busy enough with their work and dealing with the changes, without having to decipher complex, lengthy or irrelevant reports.

You can’t avoid the fact that sometimes you have bad news to communicate. If you have built up trust, communicate honestly and clearly, and have in place strategies to cope with staff reactions (loss, grief, dismay), then you and your staff are in the best position to deal with the situation in a productive and dignified way.

Keep communicating even when a change project is reaching its final stages. Make sure you see it through. Reinforcing new skills, practices or behaviors is a vital part of embedding the change. Don’t let staff revert back to the old ways by cutting the communications cord too soon.

Use the right communications channels

I found out my job was under threat by email!

As communications experts, you know how important it is to select the right communication channel. It is too easy to get so caught up in a busy project that you overlook some of the basics. So while planning your communications strategy, make sure you take time to select the right tool for the job.

Research shows that face to face communication is required if you really want staff to adopt new behaviors. Face to face is also the best channel for planning and dealing with sensitive issues. It allows you to gauge reactions, to get instant feedback and to ensure that everyone has received and understood the message.

You may not want to front up to people when you have to communicate bad news. But if you are honest and empathetic, and demonstrate that you are prepared to listen, to take note of feedback and to answer the hard questions, then you have delivered unpalatable news in the best possible way. They may not like the message, but they will respect you for fronting up.

Even if you are on a mission to save trees, don’t forget about paper. It is still best for complex and lengthy material. It is also very useful to support face to face and phone conversations.

The intranet is great for searching for and retrieving factual information. But take note, the intranet does not change behavior, you need the personal touch to do this.

Email, it is quick and convenient and overused. ‘Communicating change via email or voicemail is like ending a relationship that was – it’s just bad form. It leaves the recipient bewildered and angry, and whom ever is delivering the message looking very bad.’ (Veronica Apostolico, Ref 9). In addition, email is not always considered effective. A District Court ruling in Massachusetts on employee communications found against a company that communicated a change in procedure via email, because the message was not effectively communicated. If you do choose to convey important information via email, make sure you get some acknowledgment of receipt and understanding.

There are now so many channels to choose from, it’s a good idea to list the ones you have available, and then match the message to the channel. Using a variety of channels means that you can repeat messages, without looking as if you are hammering home a point (even if you are). It means that staff can’t ‘escape’ from what’s happening, or deny all knowledge.

There are other issues to consider when devising your communication strategy. What information needs to be pushed out to staff and what should staff ‘pull’ in? If you are pushing information, how can you be sure they have received it? And if you have provided information for staff to find and use as required, do you need to know how many ‘hits’ the information gets, so you can measure how much it is used?

Using project champions can be a powerful ploy. Project champions communicate really strongly by modeling behaviors, through conversing with staff, and demonstrating how proposed changes really work for your staff.

Use story telling to paint the picture

I just don’t see how that’ll work

‘… truly flexible, fully integrated, adaptable IT infrastructure using an SOA approach to develop modular, easily integrated and reused…blah blah blah…’ Does this mean anything to your staff, apart from those in IT?

How can you make this message sound exciting? Why not get them to visualize it and paint a picture instead? For example, ‘Just think after go-live, all you have to do is to click on the client contact, and from there you can complete all the transactions. You no longer have to open several applications, or photocopy documents, or scan in information. Our new system will do all that for you behind the scenes.’

Tell stories so staff can visualize outcomes. Many cultures prefer a narrative approach, rather that the abrupt, business-like approach that we often adopt. In everyday life, most people tell stories to get their point across, or illustrate their viewpoint by giving concrete examples.

Story telling is relevant to all stages of the change process. At the outset, encourage staff to visualize what the changes will look like. Then they can see exactly what needs to be done. Visualization is very powerful when it encapsulates a positive view of the future. This is especially useful when trying to get staff to move from ‘Could this work for me?” to ‘I can see how I can make this work for me.’

Building scenarios makes change seem possible and gets everyone past blinkered thinking. This is partly because many people are not comfortable with abstract ideas and theory. Making your project concrete makes it real, and making it real makes it happen. Creative visualization has long been recognized as an effective tool for planning and implementing change. So add it to your toolbox.

Make it easy for management to communicate effectively?

I don’t have time to see everyone.

Don’t ignore the people side of change. Change management is usually studied from a technical viewpoint. For example, how can the changes be implemented and what processes, procedures or approaches are required. Buzz words such as process re-engineering and corporate re-structuring appear to deny human involvement. But change affects staff and the effect on staff cannot be ignored. Managers need to hone their communications skills so they communicate with tact and diplomacy.

Work as a team and plan alliances that will help you smooth the path to change. Note that ‘data from 25,000 employees, in diverse industries, consistently rank front-line managers No 1 in credibility. Employees are also more comfortable speaking up with questions and ideas to their immediate manager than with any other management level’. If senior management does not have time to see everyone, maybe they should delegate some communications to their front line managers. Train managers to deliver the right message to their unique audience. Their role is to provide context around key messages in a way that suits their team’s style and emotions.

You may need to train managers to play an active role in planning and delivering messages about change initiatives. This training could include motivational techniques, team building, negotiation, delegation or dealing with conflict. Managers need to understand that resistance is part of the normal reaction to change. Anticipating this through proactive planning enables management to prepare their staff for change, so that they move quickly along the change curve, from Denial and Resistance, to Exploration, Hope and Commitment. Managers, who are movers and shakers in the change management process, may need a reminder that many staff need time to come to terms with change. Planning some ‘being patient’ time could save time in the long run.

Contrary to popular belief, management often find it very time-consuming to write reports to staff, or even if they find time, you, as internal communications, may feel that their language or approach makes their report inaccessible. Support them and make it easy for them. Having a variety of communication channels available is very helpful, especially if you select approaches and tools that make everything as quick and intuitive as possible.

If your CEO is not able to meet face to face to deliver a sensitive message, then maybe a video presentation would be an effective alternative for conveying the message. Staff will still be able to hear the emotion and see the passion. Good communicators can instill confidence and enthusiasm, and in so doing they still the rumor mill and quell unfounded anxieties.

If writing a report seems too formal or time-consuming, then consider submitting a short article in your company newsletter of magazine. A slightly less formal format may assist management to use a more ‘user-friendly’ and ‘human’ approach.

Success can be enhanced if managers play an active role in both planning and delivering messages about change initiatives.

Measure results, celebrate success

I am sure that we got the message across. But what did actually happen?

Measurement is critical in times of change and the best communication strategies involve measuring for effectiveness. It is important to understand whether messages are hitting the mark and to confirm that people are on the same page as you (or at least the page you expected them to be on).

Your first step is to list the desired outcomes of your change communications project, and decide how you will measure the success of each outcome. And do you have current data to use as a comparison?

You probably want to measure:

o Staff attitudes (to the project, to how well their managers get the message across)

o Staff emotions (where they are on the change curve?)

o Level of skill development or knowledge acquisition

o How well is your communications strategy working?

o Have messages been received, read and understood?

If you measure every step of the way, you can tweak messages and change tack when an approach is not working as well as it might. Regular surveys that give a snapshot of how people are feeling allow you to track the overall trend, otherwise it is easy to let your opinion of progress be colored by the ‘squeaky wheels’ in your organization;

You need to gather qualitative as well as quantitative data, and decide on effective ways to present and use the information. Proof of progress validates your planning, informs management and motivates staff.

Tips to Communicate Change Effectively to Staff

Tips to Communicate Change Effectively to Staff

Sarah Perry is a Director of Snap Communications, http://www.snapcomms.com, a company which provides specialist Internal Communications tools and Employee Communications Solutions.

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Obstacles to Change Management

September 20, 2012 By

Obstacles to Change Management

Change is part of our lives today. And sometimes it affects our organizations. Unfortunately, we don’t always react well to it either as individuals or in a group.

But our survival as an organization frequently depends on our ability to react. We know this and yet we still resist change.

Learning to live with change means learning to overcome the obstacles to appropriate reaction. In many ways, the whole term change management is wrong. What we as organizational change specialists do is manage reactions. We manage the reactions of the people being affected. We manage the reactions of the organization. We do this by overcoming the obstacles that force an improper reaction.

But what are the obstacles to change management?

There are many obstacles to change management. Many are unique to individual organizations. Many are unique to the individuals involved. This uniqueness is what forms the environment for change. The ability to recognize commonalities and work within this environment is crucial to success. In this article, I’m going to share six obstacles that are frequently found across many organizations.

1. Lack of education in managing the reaction to change. Even the term change management indicates that we don’t properly teach managers how to manage their organizations through change. People’s reactions to our change efforts follow a reasonably static set of responses. As managers, we need to be able to predict their reaction in order to identify the appropriate structure around the change.

2. People are slow to recognize change. People don’t really resist change as a general rule. However, they often fail to recognize the extent or importance of change. This is actually a survival mechanism. And while it is in many ways a good thing, this delay can cause issues when surviving a change requires quick reaction times.

3. Lack of time and energy to do it right. Often as managers, we are faced with a lack of time and energy to convince our people to adapt to the change. In fact, sometimes we’re faced with a lack of time to even convince them that a change is needed. While people don’t really resist change they do resist the imposition of changes. And unfortunately, lack of time and energy often manifests itself in the imposition of a response. It is the reaction to the imposition of change that often is perceived as resistance to change.

4. Complexity of the changes. It can be argued that our grandparents saw greater changes than we did or ever will. But what can’t be argued is that the changes we are faced with are occurring faster and in more complex patterns than have ever occurred previously. The complexity of these changes makes the primary response difficult to identify. In addition, it can also make identifying the best way to manage reactions difficult.

5. Contradictory changes. Part of the problem involved with the complexity of the changes being dealt with is that many of the changes are in fact contradictory. For example, the emergence of the job board meant that job seekers could submit applications with less effort and greater control. However, it also meant that human resources became quickly overloaded, reducing the probability of a job seeker being selected.

6. Political environment. No discussion of the obstacles to change management could be complete with a mention of the political environment. While it’s nice to believe that people accept change and resist change for rational reasons the truth is often different. Emotions form a large part of our decision making process. And that includes emotions related to protecting our turf, ourselves and our position. As many necessary changes have found themselves failing as unnecessary changes have found themselves forced into place due to improper political pressures.

Obstacles to Change Management

Obstacles to Change Management

Do you want to read more free information like this? Visit us at http://www.vproz.ca and read our blog.

Glen Ford is an accomplished project management consultant, trainer and writer. He quite literally learned to be an entrepreneur at his great-grandfather’s knee. He has over 20 years experience as a project manager in such diverse projects as Construction, IT, Software Development, Marketing and Business Startup.

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Broken heart, hurt and loneliness are three perfect ingredients, which, when mixed together, make our lives dull and miserable. These three things can easily take over our lives and once part of our lives we can see nothing but unhappiness. Very little do we know that we can become happy again and learn to appreciate the feeling of love again through love affirmations. A love affirmation is a simple statement that we continually say to ourselves, which, over time, can help to bring about permanent changes in our lives.

Love affirmations help us to rediscover the love we have lost. An affirmation is a thought that we have during the day which is directly linked to our sub-consciousness. These love affirmations guide our sub-consciousness into a certain direction which can either have positive or negative effective.

To bring about a change in our lives through love affirmation we first need to start thinking positively and wave a good-bye to all our negative thoughts which leads to a unhappy life in the first place. For example instead of ‘nobody loves me’ start thinking ‘everybody loves me’. The key behind reuniting with love is to start loving yourself in the first place and feel confident about you. Adopting a positive love affirmation about yourself such as ‘I was born out of love’ can be very helpful in helping you regain your self esteem after a breakup or a rough fight.

Secondly change your attitude towards others. Respect their feelings and think that everyone deserves love just like you do. Once you adopt this love affirmation, love will find you. You will no longer see life as miserable but will find it to be filled with love.

Wording used in love affirmation is of great significance. Only use words that are simple and can be easily accepted by your mind, only then will power of love affirmations work. Preferably try to use word ‘love’ when making use of a love affirmation. Something along the lines of ‘I am worth loving’ or ‘I will find my true love’ or ‘I am committed to loving …’ are all good examples of love affirmations.

Love affirmation can not only be used to find love for yourself but it is also about discovering God’s love. For example thinking ‘I will love others as extensions of my own Self, and of the love I feel from God.’ will draw you nearer to God and His universal love.

Love affirmation also helps you understand your companion and builds a strong bond between couples. Even to find romance you first need to find your inner-love which can only be achieved through love affirmation.

Love affirmation can also be used to draw ourselves closer towards nature. Learn to love nature and most importantly spend time with nature more often. Try thinking about good things such as ‘I love the smell of fresh flower’ or ‘I feel refreshed’.

To get used to love affirmation, note down any positive thought you have during the day maybe on a piece of card or whichever way is convenient to you. During initial stages of love affirmation technique we might get negative thoughts as well. Note these negative affirmations as well and at the end of each day try replacing them with something more fruitful thought. Review your affirmations twice a day to have a maximum effect of love affirmation. Initially it takes time to step out of a dark miserable world but once you succeed in taking a step nothing can stop you and with the help from repeated love affirmations you will ultimately stop at nothing but love.

September 18, 2012 By

Robert Watson is a certified hypnotherapist with the ABH and the NGH, and has worked with affirmations and subliminal messages for over ten years. Visit his Subliminal Messages [http://subliminal.green-machine.info] website for more information about using affirmations and subliminal messages to help you lose weight, quit smoking, have a more positive outlook and more.

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Occupational Safety Training Is Not A Cure-All, You May Need Guerilla Change Management

September 16, 2012 By

Occupational Safety Training Is Not A Cure-All, You May Need Guerilla Change Management

Good employee safety-training is not a cure-all. Safety training will educate a relatively willing and receptive group of people on the technical aspects of a particular subject like entering a permit-required confined space safely or conducting hot-work appropriately and it may even push them in the right direction when it comes to changing behavior. However, even the best training can’t convince someone to change their behavior if they are not open to that change.

Before embarking down a specific solution-path in an attempt to solve employee-related safety problems, ask yourself: Am I trying to increase a group’s technical proficiency or am I trying to create behavioral change? If you answer the latter, you may very well need some form of a change management program.

A comprehensive change management program that incorporates a proven behavior-change model will help you break through barriers and achieve results that good training alone simply can’t attain.

The range of programs begins at changing a single, targeted behavior, like wearing safety glasses at all times in a particular area because there are an excessive number of eye injuries, to organizational, cultural change and development of a safety culture, which involves change management of the entire organization, at all levels.

Change management, at its core, whether personal or organizational, involves tearing down and recreating those overarching concepts or paradigms that people hold onto tightly and that are relatively static until impinged upon by new and compelling ideas; this creates a different, new way of thinking and perceiving. You effectively capitalize on this resultant paradigm shift to introduce and assimilate the specific desired changes. Support at every level of the organization is critical to affecting this shift in thoughts, attitudes, perceptions and the resulting behavior and, if you are attempting organizational, cultural change, large-scale efforts are necessary.

This type of program may be out of your reach, but that does not mean that you don’t have options; you can embark upon a guerilla change-management program that is designed to slowly chip away at entrenched behaviors and paradigms that are injurious to the group or the organization without engaging in a full-blown, large-scale change management program.

The word ‘guerilla’ means small-war.  The term ‘guerilla-warfare’ describes mobile, shifting, insurgent type warfare. Its use in this context implies lower-level efforts designed to create the right conditions for change and bring it about by exerting gradual pressure from different levels of the organization. It is not as effective as a large-scale, fully supported effort but it will create positive change given sufficient time and when handled well.

Here are some methods that you can employ that will help you in your endeavor.

Make a Plan: Develop your own plan that identifies the status quo, the desired change or behavior and the gap. Brainstorm the reasons for the gap, identify the reasonable ones and develop plans to attack each of the reasons in a logical, deliberate manner.

Plant Ideas: Plant idea-seeds that germinate in the fallow-fielded minds of others. Just as each individual plant grows from a seed in a unique way that is dependent on the soil, water and other environmental conditions, so too will these idea-seeds grow — in emergent ways fed on the knowledge and experience of the individual minds where you have sown them. It may surprise even you how your ideas grow and develop. Other people will adopt the ideas as their own and then promote them, giving them credibility and momentum. Warning: Avoid bloviators at all costs; these self-absorbed know-it-alls will cause your ideas to loose traction.

Seek Out Change Champions: Work with respected individuals at different levels of the organization that have similar concerns. Employ them strategically at meetings and during day-to-day activities to serve as “champions” for your cause. Give them extra training, spend extra time with them and help them become successful in their own roles. Over time, many employees will begin to reevaluate their own ideas and perceptions if they are continually exposed to other viewpoints in productive ways – especially from trusted and well-respected coworkers who are now your change champions.

Identify One Executive: Identify one, like-minded, respected and reasonable executive that shares your passion and concerns. Share your vision and your plan and ask him or her to become a change-champion and help you to push for change when possible. Help that person with his or her own efforts in other areas to develop mutual trust.

Develop Mid-Level Management Buy In: It is a time-honored truth that mid-level managers are responsible for much of the actual change in an organization. These people can really make things happen. As you seek out your change-champions, make sure you include one or more key mid-level managers.

Develop Supervisor Buy-In: Front-line supervisors have a significant impact on their direct reports. Make sure that supervisors understand where you are headed, why and include as many of them as you can as you develop your change-champions. Educate these supervisors on the issues and help them to develop their own authority within their areas of expertise. This is particularly important for troublesome, change-resistant groups.

Communicate Effectively: Develop a strong, understandable and easy-to-communicate message and broadcast it as often as possible, in as many ways as possible. As you develop your message, identify what is important to your target audience and leverage those things to your benefit.

Brand and Market Your Message: Take a half-day and learn about internal branding and marketing on the Internet or buy a book. Brand your message. Market it. Sell it. Include it in all safety, health and environmental trainings. Require all outside consultants and trainers that you hire to subtly include your message in their materials. An internal branding and marketing campaign can help you to broadcast your message more effectively and professionally.

Take Advantage of Opportunities: Unique opportunities such as specific injuries, incidents and unanticipated expenses will present themselves as you sell your ideas for change. Learn to recognize these events as opportunities to promote change and use them to your advantage. Be shameless and bold in your exploitation. It may feel uncomfortable at first but people learn by mistakes so don’t miss these opportunities. A word of caution – avoid the blame game – this will poison your efforts and damage your credibility.

Develop a Sense of Urgency: Work to develop a sense of urgency and a call-to-arms amongst your change champions. Don’t worry about agreement at first; develop a collective desire to create change first. Agreement will eventually follow because you will guide them towards a specific end.

Get Outside Help: As you sell your ideas and share your message for change, consider an outside resource to help you. Sometimes, a new face can help put a different spin on an idea or add credibility to an effort. Fine a knowledgeable consultant or other outside resource and use them strategically.

Establish Yourself as Trustworthy, knowledgeable and Build Your Credibility: Say what you do and do what you say. Be honest. Be forthright. Be nice. Maintain your integrity. Be a go-to person. Be an advisor. Be a resource and a technical expert for others. Never over-promise and under-deliver. Help employees at all levels of the organization achieve success. Don’t hold a grudge. Don’t tell stories in your mind; deal with the FACTS.

Never Give Up! Change is hard and it takes time. Gradual pressure exerted over time is indicated.

As you develop your safety program and determine how to create positive, sustained change and successfully deal with employee behavioral problems, keep in mind that training is but one tool and not a cure-all. You may need to introduce a new tool and a guerilla effort may be just what you need.

Occupational Safety Training Is Not A Cure-All, You May Need Guerilla Change Management

Occupational Safety Training Is Not A Cure-All, You May Need Guerilla Change Management

Andrew Troccoli is the president of Anfeald, LLC — Anfeald provides consulting and training services throughout the US in occupational safety, environmental health, risk management, loss-control and security. Visit Anfeald on the web at http://www.anfeald.com to find out how Anfeald professionals can help you reduce your loss-frequency and establish a safety program that works. Anfeald Provides Answers!

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The Change Management Process

September 16, 2012 By

The Change Management Process

Change Management is a critical piece for corporations. Large corporations depend on it for anything that affects their production environment. But what is change management at all? Change Management is the process that kicks in when a change is made to the production environment of a business. For the matter of this article we will use an Information Technology related case to explain Change Management.

Company “A” uses change management to keep track of changes to its web servers. The change management process also allows to inform all internal business units and departments of the upcoming change to the web servers and what parts of the business are affected by this change. The change management process is started by the decision to update the web servers with a newer version of the web application. The website administrators, the QA department and the developers have finished the final testing of the new application update and now it is time to go live.

The website administrator starts the process by writing down the purpose of the change and what steps are required to complete the task. He also describes the impact to internal and external users and which departments of the business might be affected (example: external customer service). The description of these tasks for the update are usually high level and not too detailed. The reason for this is more to inform the business about the change and not to list an exact how to step by step guide.

Once the website administrator has finished the initial change management request form (electronic or hardcopy) it goes up one level to his direct manager and with his approval the change management request is being distributed among departmental points of contact that have been defined in an earlier process. The different departments and business groups review the change management request to evaluate the impact to the department or group. If no impact is visible or if a possible impact is already addressed and covered in the change request the department or group approves the change management. If a possible impact is not addressed the group or department denies approval and ask for more information or how the issue in question will be addressed. Approval for the change request goes to “pending”.

Once all issues are addressed and worked out and every necessary approval has been submitted the change management request awaits one more step – CTO (Chief Technology Officer) or CIO (Chief Information Officer) approval might be required. This process makes sure that a track record of changes that affect the business is created and that every group, every department and the business management are aware of what is going on.

Some critics see change management as a process that slows down the ability to act fast when needed. Others see it as assurance for continuing business success as department A might not realize how big the impact of a proposed change is to department B.

The Change Management Process

The Change Management Process

About the Author

Christoph Puetz is a successful entrepreneur and international book author. Websites of Christoph Puetz can be found at Kabobs Recipes and at Highlands Ranch Colorado.

This article can freely be distributed and re-printed as long as the links in the author’s section remain active and clickable. This comment about the re-printing permissions does not have to be published.

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