How can leadership effectively communicate Culture Change vision and goals during training?

Effective communication of culture change vision and goals during training requires a leader to articulate a clear, compelling narrative. Picture out the reasons behind the change, the good results it will achieve, and how it lines up with the company's values and long-term objectives.

Start with why the current state isn't sustainable and then paint an inspiring and unifying picture of the future state we're aiming to achieve. Be clear about the work and challenges involved but that the positive payoffs are worth the effort. Crucially, leaders need to get early cut-through by convincing their people that they are genuinely, personally engaged in the process and will see it through - and then they must follow through.

Leaders need to recognize and acknowledge any gaps between the cultural aspirations of the business and the day-to-day employee experience. They can only do this by truly listening to what their employees have to say.

There’s a huge assumption sitting unquestioned underneath this article. And that is that ‘leadership’ develop the vision and then share it by telling the story well to others. In my experience this approach delivers limited success. Rather, engage as many as possible in describing the desired culture they want (with leadership input too ofcourse). This approach of sharing the vision through co-creation means that everyone has thought about the desired culture and is one big step closer to discussing ‘so how do I, and we in my team, need to change?’ We’ve been applying this approach for over 15 years and it has never delivered an outcome that the leadership team is not aligned with and delighted by.

Actionable points are more meaningful than simply stating that what need to be changed. I remember one of the sessions in which a Leader prepared a 50 slides presentation with different metrics and data which shows that change is mandatory. However, after a 3 hour presentation one of the participant raised the hand and asked that "I didn't understand what specifically I need to do?" - :)

It is essential for leadership to effectively communicate change. Key points: 1. Clearly define the vision. 2. Align with organizational goals. 3. Provide context & transparency. 4. Demonstrate cultural behaviors & values through consistent actions. 5. Communicate the change vision through stories, case studies & tangible examples. 6. Involve staff in the process. 7. Regularly update staff on the progress of the culture change, milestones achieved & adjustments made. 8. Emphasize the importance of learning & encourage staff to develop new skills & seek personal development opportunities. Effective communication needs consistency to the desired change. Leaders can inspire staff to embrace & contribute to a change journey.

It can be reminded in company newsletters, beginning or ending of meetings, in stories of every day life at that company. Leaders own it until it is second nature for their people too. They give ownership to their people to figure out their purpose/vision in life to connect the dots to their work. People do not only come for a paycheck but because they find meaning in what they do. They know they contribute to something bigger even if their tasks feel repetitive. The accountant is not only punching numbers, he is contributing to the big purpose of the company.

Make change normal. That’s the first requisite to remove resistance and empower ownership. What you want to change should be imbibed in the behaviour of your people. Communication is 80% non verbal so it’s important to identify, observe and implement consistent non verbal communication of the desired change. Leaders need to break it down and identify the behaviours that will facilitate the change. The “how” should involve more of non verbal than verbal to make the communication effective.

In the corporate world, communication is the key to success. Keeping these principles in mind is key: 1. Timing is crucial: Share your message when it matters most. 2. Tailor to the audience: Customise your message with words and concepts they understand. 3. Inspire and motivate: Use positivity to boost productivity. 4. Share the big picture, empower for action: Encourage the overarching vision but let your team decide how to reach it. 5. Empower and inform: Remind them they deserve this communication, equipping them with the needed knowledge. 6. Why, How, What: Explain the message's significance, impact, and clear steps. 7. End with a call to action: Encourage your audience to engage with the message Communicate.Inspire.Succeeded

Communicate the culture change vision and goals throughout the entire change process, from the initiation to the consolidation stage. • Communicate early and often: Communicate the vision and goals of the change as soon as possible and keep your team updated and informed on a regular basis. • Communicate at key moments: Communicate the vision and goals of the change at key moments of the change process. Use these moments to reinforce the messages and to acknowledge the achievements of your team. • Communicate in response to feedback: Use the feedback to clarify any doubts or misconceptions, to address any concerns or issues, and to adjust or adapt the change strategy if needed.

Whenever there is conviction that change must happen. When the leader has realised that change would be inevitable to survive and grow, is the time when a special meeting can be convened and restlessness conveyed. It would set the ball rolling. Why delay it? It needs to be conveyed without postponement.

It should be as early as possible, there are so many tools that helps in communicating such as slack or whats app or even if we have the internal communication app.

Who should communicate anything about any change: only the people who have the necessary competence to understand what the change is about, what resources and actions it requires, what is the impact and what are the expected results. In order to develop and implement a positive change, one needs to understand the actual work, the situation, the applicable standards and regulations, the required personnel qualifications and resources. Communication is about all the details that matter, not just about some lofty policies and loosely defined goals. When you communicate, you need to be able to provide details, to answer questions about the implementation details, to have realistic resources for the implementation of the change.

Ah, in our case it was the MD of the company himself. Two days of closed door sessions and discussions. The day long meetings resulted in us coming out with a fairly good idea on what, when, where, who, which and how of the work needed to be accomplished. It was fun to be a part of 18 months of super initiative...

Organization culture is from the top. While everyone is responsible for the culture, the senior leaders are responsible for the direction and momentum. Quarterly townhall where senior leadership shows a united front to the program is critical. Use the townhall to share success stories. Repetition create confidence. Have HOD have regular department meeting where they show enthusiasm of the change and also progress. Then equip people managers with the ability to assess if employees are having difficulty with the change and provide them support.

If you see discretionary behaviors around you, it means that you have communicated the right message. People will make themselves accountable for going extra mile and they will be few. If 15-20% people have started to display discretionary behavior, it means things are going in the right direction of transformation.

Change must be purposeful. Effective communication creates involvement and a volunteer spirit. So, measure the effectiveness of the communication by measuring the behavioural change and the impact on metrics. You need to know what the communication mobilises people to do differently, not just how they feel.

While high-level consistent communication from the Executive Management, Middle Management, Champions, and Change Agents is essential. Change must become "actionable" at the employee level - It must become part of the "mindset". In order to develop the organizational mindset for change, requires a change in expected behaviours - what is expected from employees in terms of new behaviours in support of the change and in the context of their day to day work - These behaviours then need to be part of Performance Appraisals, PD & Learning, Mentoring, On-Boarding programs etc. - Alignment of these types of organizational structures in support of the desired outcomes as a result of the change is critical.

Hopefully, you've developed a vision story that explains the "why" and "wherefore" of your culture change. If not, develop one! Use the "culture change vision story" as the basis of your training. Help people see how the change will do them good and connect the training to what will be needed to thrive in the new cultural imperative. I do this on every culture change effort that I plan and lead and I know it works!

"Listening" is briefly mentioned in the introduction and is THE key requirement in firstly understanding the culture of the organization. Without listening first, and throughout, managerial-leaders will have little knowledge about the way things are, about how they could be, or about how people might respond to changes.

One of the most important things you can do when navigating a culture change is to create action plans to address the findings of what needs to change in your culture. Then, take action to ensure you are finding and creating solutions. Finally, make sure you are communicating each step with your entire organization, having the leadership team also share with their direct reports in meetings. If you show no action and it is all words, you will lose credibility with your teams. Make the culture about your people, listen, take action, and communicate, communicate, communicate! It is incredible when you see the changes and people light up with excitement because you did what you said you would do.