234. Building the will to transform: The importance of communication in transformations
Jan 9, 2025
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Join transformation experts John Parsons, a senior partner in Calgary, Dominic Skerritt, a partner in New York, and Mary Lass Stewart, a knowledge expert in Chicago, as they explore the pivotal role of communication in organizational change. They discuss how leaders can energize teams and drive commitment during challenging transformations. The trio highlights a three-part framework for employee engagement, the significance of effective work distribution, and how to empower change champions to foster lasting change.
Effective communication by leaders fosters employee engagement and ownership, essential for successful transformation outcomes.
Active involvement of employees significantly enhances transformation efforts, with direct correlation to participation rates and organizational performance.
Deep dives
The Role of Leaders as Energizers
Transformations require significant energy and effort from leaders to engage and motivate their teams. Leaders must act as 'energizers in chief,' actively charging the batteries of employees by fostering excitement and commitment to the transformation process. When team members feel inspired and believe in the vision, they are more likely to contribute discretionary effort, taking on challenges they might have previously deemed impossible. This collective engagement is crucial for ensuring the transformation creates lasting value across the organization.
The Importance of Broad Engagement in Transformation
Active involvement of employees is essential for successful transformations, with research indicating a minimum of 7% of the workforce participating in the process to avoid value destruction. Engaging around 30% directly correlates with better returns and a successful outcome. Organizations need to set clear aspirations while ensuring communications are transparent and inclusive, allowing wider employee participation in the transformation narrative. This broad-based engagement fosters a sense of ownership among team members, leading to a more effective transformation journey.
Effective Practices for Elevating Teams
A successful transformation relies on elevating a core group of leaders who can inspire and empower others. Essential practices include ensuring leaders communicate effectively, fostering innovation, strategically deploying talent, attracting external experts, and creating conditions for sustainable change. Organizations benefit from selecting individuals who embody the desired change and can model it for others. This strategic elevation not only enhances the transformation efforts but encourages wider involvement and belief in the process among all employees.
The Power of Communication and Storytelling
Inspirational communication is crucial during transformations, enabling leaders to articulate the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of change effectively. Two-way communication fosters trust and engagement, allowing employees to voice concerns and understand their roles in the process. Sharing personal stories about the transformation helps employees connect emotionally and appreciate the necessity of the changes being implemented. Overall, well-crafted communication strategies enhance employee understanding, conviction, and support for the transformation, increasing the likelihood of sustained organizational performance.
The way leaders talk about the goals and process of transformation has a profound influence on outcomes.
The process of transformation can challenge any organization that undertakes it. In this episode, McKinsey transformation experts John Parsons, Dominic Skerritt, and Mary Lass Stewart talk about the role of communication to engaging and keeping team members on board and energized throughout the process. The trio recently co-authored an article on the subject, Going all in: Why employee ‘will’ can make or break transformations.