Managing Change: Communications - Kathryn Fowler

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Managing Change: Communications

Kathy Fowler


Agenda

• Introductions

• Some theory

• Practice


Introductions

Kathy Fowler

Deputy Executive

Director

(Institute of Energy)

University of Aberdeen


Achieving Results through Working with Others

Communication… Communication..

Communication and Team Work!


Attributes of effective communication

In small groups:

• What makes effective communication?

• How does the setting/context affect the communication type?


Emotional IntelligenceThe rules for work are changing. We’re being judged by a new yardstick: not just by how smart we are, but by how we handle ourselves and each other.

Daniel GolemanWorking with Emotional Intelligence, 1998

We find that most of the characteristics that differentiate the outstanding performers are these things that we call social and emotional competencies. Richard Boyatzis, 2008


…does being clever help?

• Yes. • In professional and technical fields people are typically in the top 20 per cent of intelligence.

• That’s the threshold.

• But it’s not enough – is it!

• So what differentiates the very best – leaders and professionals – within the top 20 per cent?

• Employers consistently list:– Communication being able to listen, converse and present

– Adaptability creative responses to setbacks and obstacles

– Personal management motivation to work, pride, a desire to develop

– Interpersonal effectiveness teamwork, co-operation, the skills to negotiate

– Organisational effectiveness leadership potential, the desire to make a contribution

Daniel Goleman, Working with Emotional Intelligence, 1998


EI: the model


Why think about this?

People who really improve their EI have some

surprising things in common:

• they don’t bite off more than they can chew

• they are really clear about the payoff – for them

and others – if they change

• they focus on their strengths and make the most

of them before looking at their weaknesses

• they are tenacious about asking those around

them how they’re doing


A short time – what do you see?

Interpersonal communciation



How do we communicate

RECEIVER

DECODING

CHANNEL

CODING

SENDER

The transmission model


Communicating

1• Active listening

2• Reflecting and summarising

3• Questioning

4• Responding

5• Giving and receiving feedback


Active listening involves…• Trying to understand what the speaker is saying

• Showing that you are listening

• Periodically checking understanding


Reflect and summarise

• Listen for the basic message - consider the content,

feeling and meaning expressed by the speaker.

• Restate what you have been told in simple terms.

Be natural.

• Look for non-verbal as well as verbal cues that

confirm or deny the accuracy of your paraphrasing.

• Do not question the speaker unnecessarily.

• Do not add to the speaker's meaning.

• Do not take the speaker's topic in a new direction.

• Always be non-directive and non-judgemental.


Questioning

• Find out facts

• Check understanding

• Help the other person improve their

understanding

• Invite the other person to examine your

own thinking

• Request action


Question types

• Open

• Closed

• Leading

• Probing

• Reflective

• What if?

• Silence

•


Responding

INTERPRETING

SUPPORTING

PROBING

UNDERSTANDINGEVALUATING


Feedback

1.Tell them what worked well

2.Tell them what didn’t work well

3.Make a suggestion about how you’d prefer

them to do it next time

CLEAN feedback: remove subjectivity. Only

give feedback on what you actually observed,

not your interpretation of it.


Verbal and Non verbal communication

What is she

thinking?


Putting it into practice

• Split into pairs

• Talker has to describe what they want

from a holiday but without mentioning a

destination. (3-4 mins)

• Listener to summarise main 3 or 4 points,

then guess the destination

• Swap over

• Feedback


Top tips to communicate change

• Communicate consistently

• Careless words cost …

• Use a variety of media: meetings, briefings, focus groups, community-email messages, message-of-the-day, bulletins/newsletters

• Don’t do “cold call” emails – in person is best, by phone next best


• Listening is probably more important than talking

• Be truthful – especially about limitations on the ability to amend the plan

• You may have the vision and see the whole journey, but each member of your audience starts from a different place and sees the difficulties of getting to this unknown place



• Try to achieve quick and/or early “wins” and tell everyone about it

• Never, ever respond in anger – especially by email

• A good change manager is a negotiator not a bully

• Accept that you may not be able to take everyone with you, but that doesn’t mean that you should not keep trying to do so!



• Identify both key champions (pro the change) and major blockers – nurture them both

• Project Boards can be very useful and effective, but beware size – if necessary divide it up – an effective overarching decision making body and larger “stakeholder groups” to make recommendations on details



• You will not always be right – be prepared to adjust and change the plan in the face of good arguments, but not if that change will cause a train wreck

• Learn lessons, share experience, make time for feedback and celebrate!


Managing Change: Communications - Kathryn Fowler

Education

communication communication

fact communication

lack of communication

interpersonal skills

vital skills

team work

body language

large organisations