Talking Internal Communication...

Changing France the Sarkozy way

I've been reading Lendro Herrero's Viral Change blog for some time now.

The concept appeals to me - it builds to some extent on tipping point thinking, academic theories like punctuated equilibrium and ties with developments in social media which are essentially viral in nature. I've just ordered his book of the same name and I'm looking forward to getting my teeth into it.

His latest post is interesting food for though - looking at the lessons we can learn from Sarkozy's approach to initiating change in France. He describes how the President tasked Jacques Attali with gathering together 43 of the country's best and brightest - business people, academics, journalists, etc - and capturing their ideas for transforming France.  The result is a collection of 300 proposals - signed off by all 43 contributors and recently published as a book.

As Herrero points out, there are lots of lessons here for those of us in the business of change - lessons about involving people, encouraging collaboration, building consensus, encouraging diverse opinions, demonstrating leadership commitment and the importance of tangible output.  Interesting stuff indeed.

McSurvey sheds light on change comms

Management consultants McKinsey have just undertaken a global survey on change management (you might need to register to access the article). It shows that the most successful business transformations occur when leaders mobilise and sustain the energy of employees and communicate their objectives clearly and creatively.

No big shockers there then.

When asked how they went about mobilising employees and sustaining that energy, respondents singled out the importance of clear, comprehensive and compelling internal communication. The majority said their business sought to define clear goals and communicated the transformation as a compelling story.  A little under half said that their organisation offered an inspiring view of a better long-term future.

The survey also sheds a little light on the role emotions play in change. Negative and positive emotions were found in almost equal measure during times of change, with anxiety being the most common feeling, followed by confusion, frustration, fatigue and resistance. In terms of positives, sharper focus, enthusiasm and a sense of momentum were all mentioned. Not surprisingly, the positive feelings were more common in businesses that reported successful transformations.

Those of us who are experienced in communicating change to employees won't be at all surprised by these findings. We know that effective internal communication is absolutely critical to the success of change initiatives. We know that a clear, engaging and future-focused narrative is vital. And we know that we need to communicate a careful balance of rational and the emotional messages.

Whilst I'm delighted to have an organisation as respected as McKinsey underline the vital importance of communication to the change management process, I can't help feeling slightly deflated by such 'insightful' surveys. It is, after all, what we've been preaching for years.