Communication and Leading Change: Wah wah wah wah wah!

“Communication is the most important part of leading change.”

“It’s important to communicate the importance of this change to everyone at every step.”

“We’ve got to make sure people understand how important this change is.”

And the worst of all…

“We’ve got to make sure people to buy-in!”

Worst of all? Yes!

I’ve heard some form of every statement I just shared with you. So have you. We’ve heard these words again and again.

And they suck!

Now to be fair, yes––communication is an essential part of leading any change. But communication is NOT a one-way process!

We’ve got to bash this into our thick leader skulls. Not only is communication not a one-way process, it’s not even a two-way process. It’s a cycle––and we’d better understand this cycle or anything we say will sound like the “wah-wah-wah” dialog in a Peanuts cartoon.

Let’s tackle the worst first…

Over the past ten years I have never seen a leader worried about buy-in unless they’re trying to sell something people never wanted in the first place. The main problem is that some decision has already been made––and now you’re trying to get people to accept it.

You’ll never have to “sell” p