Over the last five years, nearly every single Australian workplace has experienced significant change at some level. Whether that’s a merger, new CEO or executive team, different business model, updated premises or even redundancies. Show
Yet, according to a 2014 Towers Watson study, Australian employees are tired of change and want clear direction and leadership from their managers. The fallout has been a lack of trust in leadership. According to a 2016 SunSuper Study, 46% of Australian employees always trust their immediate manager, dropping down to an alarming 24% for senior managers with only a paltry 20% admitting to trusting both. Blame it on our convict past, or a lack of employee resilience, we need strong leaders who tell the truth and can navigate employees successfully towards a new vision. Why Increasing Trust is Critical to ChangeOur ability to commit to change is based on our belief that we can trust the leader or organisation to do the right thing by us and not make us vulnerable to loss in an uncertain situation. Trust bears a close, inverse relationship with risk. The higher the stakes, the less likely people will trust the situation. Without trust, social groups become dysfunctional and start to break down. People become unwilling to cooperate resulting in slow decision-making, a lack of accountability, self-interested behaviours and difficulties meeting deadlines. Despite Australian employees experiencing change fatigue, the reality is that it is only set to accelerate. So how do you create trust in environments where external and internal change, risk and uncertainty exist? Through well-thought out communication. And lots of it. Five Steps to Creating High-Trust CommunicationTrust is enabled through conversations. Typically, when trust breaks down it is because management has not comprehensively explained why change is necessary. The result is a huge trust gap that reduces productivity and morale. A study by Geckoboard found that when employees hear nothing, more than half “resort to doing their own detective work” to find out what’s going on. Few companies strategically approach how to build trust through communication. Yet, considering how to communicate to build trust can dramatically reduces employee fear and improves confidence, commitment, and execution. Here are five steps for leaders to build trust during times of uncertainty: 1. Explain Why we need to ChangeStart by describing the current state and how and why it isn’t working. Admit mistakes. This provides people with the emotional connection they need to the information. This is important because the part of the brain that manages trust can’t understand language, only emotions. Describing the rationale behind a decision also increases trust, as people will accept it, even if they disagree, as long as the process appears rigorous and fair. One further important point with this step is to make sure you don’t omit important information, as any sign of a lack of transparency will decrease trust. 2. Focus on the Company Purpose & ValuesWe are more likely to trust others who are like ourselves. A clear sense of purpose, values, and goals connect everyone together through being able to collectively see the meaning of their work. Promoting group self-interest also reduces any misperceptions of suspicious intent by leaders. Focusing on a group goal aligns everyone and it’s what the word’s best companies do well. After 20 years of research, Great Places to Work Institute found that the primary defining characteristic of a great workplace is employees trust their manager. In the annual Best Companies to Work For , trust is the primary measure used to select companies. Interestingly, employees within these companies acknowledge that change may bring inevitable uncertainties, but they are comforted that they are working in concert with coworkers, pulling together toward a common goal. In fact, these employees act with an entrepreneurial mindset embracing change and its associated knock-backs. 3. How you will be affected/risks involvedMeet people where they are at and openly discuss any fears or reservations that are left unsaid in their head. This means discussing how the change will affect people and confessing that it might mean working longer hours or throwing away previous work. Avoid sugar-coating the situation and ignoring any potential risks. At the same time, it’s important that employees’ self-interest is linked with the company purpose and “what’s in it for them”, such as how much they will learn or improve their career opportunities. Addressing potential risks helps the risk-adverse to understand the issue at hand. People are more likely to accept risk if they understand it. 4. Reset the destinationOnce everyone understands why the change was necessary, then it’s time to describe the new vision. Research studies have found that leaders who communicate using image-based words are more likely to succeed with strategy execution than those using abstract words or numeric goals. Talking about the destination (how it will look like such as the new customer user experience) gets people thinking in terms of outcomes, rather than activities. This helps reset our inherent bias towards wanting to stick with past efforts. 5. Provide clear expectationsLay out clear goals and guidelines so everyone knows what their part is in the transition. When trust is lost, it’s often because clear expectations were not initially specified. One of the issues during complex change is that leaders tend to either sugar-coat the situation, over-inflate the benefits or make promises they can’t keep. Unfortunately, leaders are unknowingly increasing expectations, leading to an increase in a sense of entitlement. This often results in promises being broken, resulting in employees feeling betrayed, even when from an objective standpoint the leader has been trustworthy (but might have accidentally glossed over a few things, or made those things sound glossier than they really were). Think of it like promising your seven-year-old, who is resistant to moving house, that when you move to the new house he’ll get a box of chocolates and then you forget and run out of time. No seven year old will find your excuse fair or reasonable when expectations are high. Adults are the same. For really tough changes, it’s also important to admit that you don’t know how the change will go or how to even do things, but you believe everyone will be able to work it out if they work as a team. Having belief that people can successfully complete the new initiative is critical to building trust. Of course, underpinning all of the communication is a leader who openly tells it like it is, seeks honest feedback through active listening, shows that they care about any concerns, and checks that everyone understands the new expectations. In my book, Trusted to Thrive: How leaders create connected and accountable teams, I share a blueprint on how to do this for leaders. It's not just about verbal communication, but also non-verbal - the subtle signals we sent out without realising it. Essentially, a high-trust leader is approachable enough for employees to discuss any work situation and is always comfortable addressing the tough conversations. They communicate constructively with positive intent to directly resolve the issue. The result is employees who commit to actions, make faster decisions, and who have the confidence to buy into a big vision to get an innovative project off the ground. In other words, employees who can embrace the next wave of change.
The beginning of the year is an excellent opportunity for new growth. Whether it’s the new year itself or the start of the new season, there’s just something about the first quarter that makes people more receptive to the idea of change. Don’t waste that receptiveness by failing to enact the change you wish to see. What changes should you think about implementing? How can leaders take advantage of this open-mindedness to change? To help you start the year off right, 11 members of Forbes Coaches Council share the ways in which they believe leaders can enact effective change in the first quarter. Here's what they advise: Photos courtesy of the individual members.1. Show Your Appreciation Meeting with key colleagues one-on-one for coffee or a quick lunch at the start of the year can reignite communication and generate ideas. Most importantly, these simple sessions underscore that you appreciate the value of those in your professional world. - Paul Marinaccio, Tribeca Leadership 2. Improve Communication Leaders can take advantage of the new year by making this the year they and their teams have more clear concise conversations. So often, we don't realize the importance of internal dialogue which impacts every external conversation. When we create better conversations in the workplace, productivity is increased along with employee engagement and team cohesiveness. - Claudette Gadsden, Coach Claudette & Associates 3. Practice Self-Transcendence Leadership is an action: a verb, not a noun. Leaders strive to add value continually. Change begins with an internal decision to make better choices. A new year provides a compelling line in the sand, a universal unit of newness. That brings with it an urge to be better, do better and live better. Now is the time to practice self-transcendence. Get over yourself and you’ll go further. - Joké Coker, Constellation Coaching Group 4. Go On A Self Retreat I advise leaders to go on a self retreat before the new year or at the very start of the year. A self retreat requires them to go away for at least two to three days, get off the electronic grid (no social media, TV, news, radio, etc.), and do a thorough process of review, reflection and what I like to call, "brain dumping." The purpose of the retreat is to gain clarity, alignment and energy for change. - Kamille Soler, The Ultimate LYFE 5. Identify Goals A great way for leaders to take advantage of the new year is to develop a strategic vision for the coming year. Every year I revisit my 10-year and three-year plan and create a one-year plan that identifies the SMART goals I want to achieve in the coming year. Mine are both personal and business related. I then create an action plan for how I'm going to accomplish my goals. - Michael Vann, The Vann Group 6. Shift Your Business Culture The new year is the perfect time for recalibration. It is a great time to introduce new policies and procedures or freshen up standards that do not best serve your organization. Use the momentum brought on by entering a new year to shift the culture of your business or organization. - Latasha Weatherspoon, The Lifted Lifestyle® Read more in The Pressing Need For Culture Management7. Practice Self-Awareness And Public Speaking Two things. First, stand-out leaders have the highest self-awareness. That requires meditation which is an impactful exercise in self-awareness. Second, stand-out leaders are expert public speakers. If you're not already in Toastmasters, get involved there or somewhere where you can practice weekly. - Brian Harman, Business Management Hallmark 8. Be Present In The Now Change is about experiencing what you want for the future. Being present in the now and feeling what you want for the future are sure-fire ways to become successful at whatever goal you set for yourself. - Catie Harris, NursePreneurs 9. Find Feedback Seek out feedback and listen to it. Try some new behaviors and ask those who have given you feedback to let you know when you are doing better or falling back into old behaviors. - Chuck Berke, Berke Associates 10. Lean Into Change The best way to take advantage of any opportunity for change is to embrace it — lean into it and paint your mind with possibility. Too many people fear or resist change subconsciously, which means even though they think they want change, their behavior stays the same. Leaning into change means choosing, every day, to do things differently and inviting your audience to do the same. - Rebecca T Dickson, Rebecca T. Dickson 11. Refresh Your Vision Just like we look at the new year with fresh eyes in our personal life, now is the time to refresh your vision for the company you lead. What change are you going to create in the next year? Where will the company go? How can employees engage in helping the business achieve its vision? Consider beginning the year working with your team to revise or refresh your vision, and make it clear to all. - Aric Wood, XPLANE |