Sharing the story of change!

In the past 22 months our world has seen more disruption than in the last 20 years. This constant change has left little time to ensure change adoption and as you are probably aware, the stakes are high. We need a coordinated approach to change for our projects, more now than ever.

Our traditional approach to organizational change management, which is often defined by lengthy timelines, complicated templates, and sluggish rollouts, is antiquated. As organizations rethink priorities, move between in-person and virtual worlds, and flex to meet shifting strategic goals, the type of change management needed in this moment is quick and agile.

In my book, READY, Set, Change! Simplify and Accelerate Organizational Change I’ve proposed a five-step framework to move to a more agile change process.

The first of the five steps is to create a Relevant and Relatable Story of Change.

We like stories. Think about the last time you heard a story. Maybe it was your colleague telling you a story about their vacation, or a spouse sharing a story from their day. When my children were young, we read stories every night before bed. A relevant and relatable story about the change is a proven and effective way to cast the vision of change. Rather than trying to provide logic and bullet points about the need for change, a story will share the why of the change in a way that most people can easily understand, as long as the story is relevant to the change and is relatable, meaning that our audience can picture themselves in the story. Sharing the change vision as a story that is both relevant and relatable is the first step on the journey of change adoption.

Achieving change management objectives is difficult in any environment, but in this world of constant change we need faster, simpler, and more agile approaches to change.