The global communications community is right now facing its biggest challenge, as it navigates the unknown, unprecedented environment of COVID-19. In many ways as communicators, this is our time. Our contributions in providing clear, fact-based information, setting the appropriate tone, supporting our employee community and demonstrating leadership have never been more important. We are the…
As a change agent, you play a vital role in contributing to effective change execution. Given that working with change is high in both opportunity and risk, it’s important to be very precise in defining and executing your role. Setting You Up for Success One of the most constructive and positive steps you can take…
Over the last few years, we have had the distinct honour and privilege of working with several leaders on driving organizational change. I often think of my role in helping clients move through change as that of a midwife – it’s not my baby, but I have a front row seat to the pain, blood…
In the often buzz-word intensive field of change management, the terms “capacity building” and “capability building” are often used interchangeably. That is unfortunate, because a more careful treatment of the terms can actually lead to some useful breakthroughs for organizations working through change. Let’s take a closer look. In the context of transformation, “capacity building”…
The challenges I face in my work helping organizations lead change are remarkably similar to the challenges I face at home as the single mother of two teens. Here are a mother’s musings on the top 10 unlikely similarities between leading change and parenting teens: As George Bernard Shaw said so aptly, “the biggest problem…
The “curse of knowledge” is an insidious trap of organizational communication. The expression refers to a pattern that we observe regularly – a leader is so deeply knowledgeable about a topic that he cannot see the gap that exists between his level of familiarity with the subject and that of the employees around him. While…
The Results Map process for strategic communications and change was launched internationally eight years ago, very much as a passion project and an experiment in knowledge product development. While we’ve received lots of feedback on its impact, I often wonder how the methodology is being used, and hope that it’s making a difference. That’s why…
An important first step before embarking on an organizational transformation project is to assess the nature of the change. This diagnostic exercise is vital in providing the information required to determine the appropriate level of resourcing (time, budget, staff) to help ensure project success. Given the sobering reality that change research consistently finds that the…
In major organizational transformations, one of the most destabilizing periods is the window of time between the “old” way of doing things, and the “new” state. This in-between period is like flying between trapezes: an employee is asked to have the courage to let go of the current bar to move forward, but she’s left…
Today, we’re thrilled to announce the release of our latest product, the Results Map Change Agent’s Toolkit – and we couldn’t think of a better launching pad than the IABC World Conference in Montreal. What better place than a gathering of more than 1,300 global communicators and change makers to introduce a toolkit that will…
