The third component and backbone of the change management playbook is communication. Be deliberate about your ongoing communication efforts as you cycle through the five BRAVE questions again and again.

Everything communicates. Everything. Even the things you don't do and don't say send powerful signals to everybody in the organization observing you.¹

Because we live amid a communication revolution, the guidelines for communicating are changing dramatically. As much as you would like to treat communication as a logical, sequential, ongoing communication campaign, in many cases you must manage it as an iterative set of concurrent conversations.

Use Your Communication to Drive Engagement

There's an ever-strengthening body of evidence that engaged employees produce better results.² Engagement is too important and dynamic a metric to live with a binary distinction between the engaged and unengaged. Instead, think of engagement in terms of four levels: committed, contributors, watchers, and detractors, as discussed in Chapter 23.

Consider What Drives Happiness

People on your team want to be happy. Everyone finds happiness by some combination of:

1. Doing good for others
2. Doing things they are good at
3. Doing good for themselves

In the work environment, the committed are motivated by all three elements and therefore are usually among the happiest team members. The contributors are motivated by elements two and three, and the compliant are motivated by element three. Sadly, the disengaged are not finding happiness in any element.

Different people are motivated more by one bucket than by another. The more focused someone is on doing good for others, the more likely that the other elements of happiness fall into place as well.

Mother Teresa was almost exclusively focused on doing good for others; while she did that, she also became very good at what she did, and her work was good for her.

Great artists, such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma, may not care about the impact they make on others or their own rewards; they just want to pursue their art for the sake of the art, because it brings them joy to do what they are good at.

Some Hollywood producers and actors are driven more by doing what's good for themselves, money and fame, rather than the quality of the films they create.

Maslow's Needs

The core of Maslow's theory is that there is a hierarchy of needs.³ At the bottom, people must satisfy their physiological and safety needs. With those in place, they can move on to belonging and esteem. Then, ultimately, they can tackle needs for self-actualization.

Add Maslow's hierarchy to the happiness and engagement frameworks, mix in a little communication planning, and out pops an approach that weaves all three together (Table 24.1).

Satisfaction

The late Fredrick Herzberg was one of the first psychologists whose research focused heavily on business management. He was widely known for his two-factor theory on employee motivation in the workplace. According to Herzberg, the two components that drove satisfaction were hygiene factors and motivation factors.

Hygiene is probably not what you're thinking. But let's not fault Herzberg for a poor choice of words. The hygiene factors were considered things like company policies, supervisor quality, working conditions, salary, status of co-worker relations and security. The hygiene factors need to be good enough not to dissatisfy people. But there are severely diminished returns to taking them beyond good enough.

The motivating factors were considered things like achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, advancement, and growth. Improving these factors increased job satisfaction. The more they were increased, the better the satisfaction.

In Herzberg's theory, job dissatisfaction was influenced by hygiene factors, while job satisfaction was influenced by motivating factors.

Maslow Hygiene and Motivating Factors

In general, the first two levels of Maslow's hierarchy are hygiene factors. People's physiological and safety needs need to be met well enough for those needs not to be problems.

The top levels are motivating factors. The more self-esteem and self-actualization, the better.

Belonging benefits are caught in the middle. They are higher-level than hygiene factors, but often not motivators on their own. People want to belong to a club, tribe, or fan base. But it only matters if that membership builds their self-esteem or self-actualization.

Implications for You as a Transformational Leader

Those you lead are always going to be evolving. This is especially true after a merger or a crisis or a rapid shift in circumstances, like the rapid and massive move to remote work, when everyone's progress up Maslow's hierarchy of physiological, safety, belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization slips or stalls.

When that happens, you need to re-boot your relationships with them.

Meet them where they are in Maslow's hierarchy. Fighting basic needs is like fighting the tide. You'll lose.

Align the way you influence with their shifted attitudes on work/life balance, health and wellness, relationship, place in the world, and other things.

Then, help them move back up Maslow's hierarchy to where they were or beyond.

Become the Narrator-in-Chief

Allen Schoer, the founder and chair of the TAI Group, a leadership consultancy, has an interesting take on the power of stories. He suggests that:

• Stories yield narrative.
• Narrative yields meaning.
• Meaning yields alignment.
• Alignment yields performance.

Stories matter, if you choose the right ones. With the right stories, you can influence but not control those committed to the cause. But you are not going to be the only one telling the stories that communicate the message. Others are going to tell their own stories in their own ways. So you're not the only storyteller, but you can be the narrator-in-chief, guiding others to choose stories that are in line with the core message.

Touch Points

Touch points are moments at which your target audiences are touched or reached by your message. Effective communication must include multiple touch points in multiple venues. Determine both the number of people you reach and the frequency with which you touch them. For the key individuals and groups that you want to touch, map out a series of media methods to do so, including face-to-face conversations, phone calls, videoconferences, notes, emails, texts, and more general mass and social media communications.

Monitor and Adjust

You are going to lose control of the communication as soon as you start. As people relate what they've heard to others, they will apply their own filters and biases. Shame on you if you're not ready for that and have not considered diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I). Have a system in place to monitor how your message is being translated. Be ready to capitalize on opportunities and head off issues that could derail your momentum. Although you can't prepare for every eventuality, if you think through a range of scenarios, you're more likely to use those contingency plans as a starting point for your response. Determine how you will measure the success of the message. Just getting it out to the audience does not mean that you've been successful. Be sure you know how and at what frequency you will measure whether your message is being received as intended.

Repeat the Message Repeat the Message

In your communication efforts, repetition is essential. We'll say it again; repetition is essential. In other words, you're going to have to create different ways and times to repeat the same message over and over again. You'll get bored of your own message well before the critical mass has internalized it, but don't shy away from repeating it. Do not ever let your boredom show; make sure you keep your energy and excitement levels high regarding the message. When you're done, do it again, fitting it into the right context for each audience each time.

Celebrate Early Wins

Somewhere along the way, you will have identified an early win. As part of this campaign, you will have overinvested to deliver that win. When it is complete, celebrate it, and celebrate it publicly. This is all about giving the team confidence in itself. So, invest your time to make the team members feel great.

Reinforce

There is going to be a crisis of confidence at some point. At that point the team will question whether you're really serious about these changes and whether the changes you are making are going to stick. Be ready for the crisis and use that moment to reinforce your efforts.

The first thing you need is an early warning system to see the crisis developing. By this time, you should be able to tap other eyes and ears throughout the organization to get an on-the-street read of the situation. These are going to be people who feel safe telling you what's really going on. They might be administrative staff, those outside your direct line of reports, or people far enough removed from you that they don't feel threatened telling you the truth. Whoever they are, you need to identify them and cultivate them. You'll often find these in the “committed” group we discussed earlier.

The main sign of the impending crisis will be the naysayers or detractors raising their heads and their objections again or more boldly. It is likely they will go quiet during the period of initial enthusiasm after the launch of the burning imperative. But they will usually find it impossible to stay quiet forever. Their return to nay-saying will be the first signs of the crisis, and their point of view will spread if you don't cut it off.

So hit the restart button fast. Make it clear that you are committed to the changes. Regroup your core team to confirm its commitment. Positively recognize the committed and contributors, those making an effort to drive the team change imperative. And take action against the blocking coalitions, with negative consequences ranging from feedback to moving people off the team if they are hindrances to business and cultural progress. Some good steps at this point may include:

• Regrouping with your core team to gather input and adjust as appropriate
• Leading all-hands meetings, videoconferences, or calls to highlight progress and reinforce the burning imperative
• Sending a follow-up note confirming the commitment to the burning imperative
• Making follow-up phone calls with each individual on the core team.
• Reinforcing the burning imperative at each key milestone with core team, their teams, and others
• Holding meetings or one-on-ones with key people or groups at a level below your direct reports
• Making field or plant visits
• Implementing a structured plan to measure the effectiveness of your communications
• Introducing a reward and recognition program to reinforce strong performance and supporting behaviors

At Charley Shimanski's first conference when he took over in 2010 as head of the American Red Cross's disaster response operations, he hosted 140 disaster response directors and other colleagues.

It was a master class in communication. Shimanski was everywhere: on the stage introducing speakers, speaking himself, reconnecting with old friends, hugging people who had gone through tough response engagements. He owned the room and reinforced the attendees' passion for the cause. His message flowed from every action, every message, and every pore of his being.

When asked about how he prepared for a session like that, Shimanski explained that he doesn't think about what he's going to say and he doesn't think about what he wants his audience to hear. Instead, he thinks about how he wants them to feel. “I wanted them to feel that they are at the core of what we do, that our success is on their shoulders. I wanted them to feel proud.”

On one hand, not everyone has a cause as generally meaningful as the Red Cross's disaster response mission: “Provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.” But you do have a cause that is meaningful to you and to the people you're leading. If it didn't matter, you wouldn't be there. Be. Do. Say. Communicate the message in what you say. Communicate it in what you do. Make it your own. Do that and those following you will commit to it. You'll all feel proud.

Think about communicating top-down, bottom-up, and across.

In any case, it's all about treating people with respect.

On any communication:

• Make sure those emotionally impacted hear one-on-one in a way that respects their emotions.
• Make sure those directly impacted hear in a small-enough group to be able to ask questions and get answers.

Communication about:

• Long-term issues and opportunities should come from senior leadership at least quarterly regarding organization-wide priorities and results
• Mid-term issues and opportunities should come from middle management monthly regarding progress on major programs
• Short-term issues and opportunities should come from direct supervisors weekly regarding progress on projects and daily regarding progress on tasks

1. Continually look for changes in context (Where play?)
2. Reinforcing what matters and why (What matters and why?)
3. Reevaluating choices in light of new information (How win?)
4. Strengthening connections—especially across (How connect?)
5. Drowning out undesirable behavior by dialing up recognition and rewards for desired behaviors (What impact?)

You may want to dig into these areas with leading questions.

Before you object to leading questions per se, generally discouraged in direct questioning in a court of law or by neutral journalists, consider their appropriateness as a leadership tool. If a leader directs someone to do something, the best they can hope for is compliance. If they ask completely open questions, they might get any answer. But if they ask leading questions, they can lead their followers to get to the right answer and direction themselves.⁴

Findlaw defines a leading question as “one that leads a witness to an answer.” Media College defines a leading question as one “which subtly prompts the respondent to answer in a particular way” and goes on to say that “leading questions are generally undesirable as they result in false or slanted information.”

But that's exactly what leaders are trying to do: lead or prompt their followers to an answer in a particular way with frameworks for thinking that influence choices and prompt the highest impact actions.

A lot of organizations have used Toyota's 5 Whys technique to drill down into the root causes of problems in their Six Sigma work. Root causes analysis is a critical step in defining, measuring, analyzing, improving, and controlling. Other questions can lead people through other frameworks.

By now you've guessed that BRAVE questions are one such framework. Let's dig into other questions across behaviors, relationships, attitudes, values, and environment, looking outside in and starting with environment.

Next-Level BRAVE Questions

Environment: Where play

Dig in here to challenge possibilities. Ask “What could happen?” to get at the context, situation, and platform for change. Dig into understand the current reality, potential scenarios, and options.

Ask “What do we know?” “What if?” “What else could we do?”

Don't shy away from the 99 percent questions, being open to being surprised: “I'm almost positive I know the answer, but….”

Values: What matters and why

These questions are designed to clarify motivation. Ask “What do we want and why?” to get at mission, vision, and values. You're trying to get at what we won't give up along the way.

This is a good place to deploy “Why?” questions to dig in and “What would that do?” to move up benefits ladders.

Attitude: How win

How win questions guide interdependencies. Ask “How do we get there?” What you're probing for is what's in the way or what's holding us back and then thinking about how we overcome barriers and bridge the gaps. Ask “What other options might we consider?” Be on the lookout for strategic linkages and unintended consequences.

Ultimately, you're leading the group to choices.

Relationships: How connect

Connection questions are about expanding influence organizationally. Ask “How do we bring others along?” Ask “Whose help do we need?” And “How do we persuade them to join our cause?”

Here you're leading the group to enhance its influence—the indirect or intangible effect they have on others, based on what they do, how they do it, how they communicate it, and who they are.

Behaviors: What impact

Impact questions get at what we're actually going to do operationally. Ask about deliverables, steps, and contingency plans. Impact is the direct and observable effect the group has on the entities you deal with.

Bias

What we believe to be true is often a product of having a bias. In an article on asking the right questions, Gary Cohen, president and cofounder of ACI Telecentrics, points out five biases that can unduly influence leadership and decision-making. Make sure your questions remove rather than reinforce these.

1. Negative bias: A negative experience has a larger impact on your memory and leads you to believe that certain roads are to be avoided to a greater degree than a quantitative analysis would demonstrate.
2. Frequency bias: Hearing or seeing something repeatedly over time makes you more inclined to believe it.
3. Recent Bias: When making a decision, something you learned just recently will often carry more weight than information you learned a while ago.
4. Attachment bias: Leaders can very easily become overly conservative and avoid making the right decision simply because they don't want to disrupt the status quo which they helped achieve.
5. Escalation bias: When you start down a path, you look for evidence to support your direction and, at your peril, choose to ignore warning signs.

Communication and Presentation Planning

Much of this is based on work by Speakeasy's Sandy Linver, also laid out in her book Speak and Get Results.⁵ Tool 24.1 can help you organize your communication and planning efforts, as summarized in Figure 24.1