Section 4: Change Gaps

If your organization has never experienced change, and you’re sure it never will, feel free to skip this section. Otherwise, read on.

You may find it hard to believe, but one of the first things I thought of when I visited an elk refuge was the experience of change, and how some environments seem to undergo constant change—and others don’t.

Several years ago, Howard and I went on a ski trip to Wyoming. During a break from skiing, we visited a refuge where elk congregate for the winter. The high point of the visit for me was a tour by horse-drawn sleigh that gave us a closeup view of what elk do in the winter, which seemed to be mostly nothing. They just lie around looking bored. But occasionally, two of them would paw the turf, charge at each other, butt heads, and then lock horns, just like some managers I know.

During the tour, people asked the guide lots of questions: “What do elk eat?” “How much do they weigh?” “What are the antlers for?” You know, typical elk questions. The guide answered each question enthusiastically, as if he were hearing it for the first time.

Afterward, when we were safely out of the path of beasts that looked like they could have decided at any moment that we were lunch, I asked the guide how many of these questions he had heard before. “All of them,” he said. And how many had he heard frequently? “All of them.” But then how did he manage to answer every question with enthusiasm and still retain his sanity? He said he just got used to doing it; it was part of his job.

What struck me, as we sat there in the middle of the elk refuge, was how odd it must be to have a job that doesn’t contend with constant change. This fellow hears the same questions repeatedly, and he gives the same answers repeatedly. Communicating when there is little or no change is challenging, but communicating during times of immense upheaval is challenging in a very different way.

The two chapters of Section 4 will help you consider the challenge of communicating during times of change in your very non-elk-reserve-like organization.

• Chapter 12 describes the experience of change, and presents a model for considering what that experience is like for you and for the people with whom you interact.

• Chapter 13 builds on the change model by presenting guidelines for communicating effectively during times of change.

I can envision a sign posted on the sleigh at the elk refuge. It’s labeled “Frequently Asked Questions About Elk.” In bold letters, the sign says:

What do elk eat? They eat . . .

What do elk weigh? They average . . .

What are the antlers for? They are used for . . .

However, the tour guide probably wouldn’t want this sign in his sleigh. Why? Because although he may get bored answering the same questions over and over, he probably prefers that to the alternative—dead silence. That’s an alternative you are unlikely to encounter when you manage change.