They don’t know what you know.
We don’t know what we don’t know is a common saying when our own blind spots show up, but I want to flip it on its head when we talk about change: they don’t know what you know. As leaders, there’s tremendous time and energy spent on understanding what needs to change, especially changes that transform. Data analysis, consultations, meetings, surveys, the list goes on. All that information is being examined, dissected, and weighed to finally identify a path forward, until - BINGO, the answer is clear!
Think for a moment how much time this all takes. All of it. Start from recognizing a pain point at inception. Can you even remember when that was, when your brain started noticing and became increasingly curious about why something wasn’t working as well as it could be?! After your own contemplation you then began asking for information, collecting insights from different perspectives, collecting and reviewing reams of information, to eventually land on a final decision. It’s probably hard to quantify but the answer is somewhere in the realm of “lots”!
Now when the solution becomes evident and you’re ready to move forward, add in the feelings of pride and hope because of your confidence. Those buoyant feelings increase the drive to advance quickly, compounded by the external urgency that so often exists. Here is the point at which communication is created to announce change, which is also the point when the resistance begins.
The information gap is the centre of that resistance: they don’t know what you know. How could they? You have spent so much time understanding so much information; it’s impossible to translate that fully. Not only do they not know what you know, they can’t.
This can also be summarized into that ever-repeating reminder that the ‘why’ is imperative to change. You as a leader have spent much time on that why - that was the understanding part. The proverbial blood, sweat and tears that it took to determine what to do and move forward is WHY you chose the direction you did. Understanding is imperative to adopting change, so if you’re asking people to change, my message today is the necessity of starting with understanding.
There are different ways to create understanding at various stages of change, a few are listed below:
The most valuable way to generate acceptance of change is to include those who will be most impacted in their day-to-day work. This is beyond asking for input, but actually including them in those aforementioned meetings and data reviews. When people see it for themselves, connecting dots is easier.
Spend time on sharing that information that created understanding. Not as a summary, or talking points, but actually sharing the information. Take time with it, allow for questions, allow it to sink in. Allow people to understand what it all means.
Make your decision-making as transparent as possible. Somewhere along the way there was likely a weighing of options, and versions of pros and cons being thrown around. Share this - it helps people understand that decisions were thoughtfully and respectfully made.
Include those being impacted in the change to co-create the future state. Honestly, if this doesn’t happen, it will just result in needing to revisit and redo anyway; getting ahead of it and going slower will serve you well in the long-run.
But the most impactful, sustainable, comprehensive way to integrate understanding and successful adoption to change: integrate regular decision-making structures that include diverse stakeholders, for continuous and responsive adaptation. This can take the form of meetings where all that information is reviewed regularly, and the collective is participating in on-going decision making and iterative changes. The information is democratized and ownership integrated. The need for this type of structure is increasingly relevant to those spaces where change is constant…and if done well, will negate the need for many change ‘projects’.
That last one is a favourite of mine as it reflects my own personal experience with leading successful changes. If you want to hear more or explore how I can support you and your teams, let’s make time for a call.
Lastly, I’m sharing this post as I repeatedly see the gap between the understanding leaders have and the lack of understanding of people required to adopt changes. This may not be a popular take, especially as this newsletter is a marketing tool for my services, but I often say that the big difference between leaders is decision-making versus execution. As leaders, we’d like to think of ourselves as more capable, more clever, more astute in setting a direction (and this is also likely the case as it got you to the place you’re at). But sometimes when people have the same information as you, they will also make the same decisions you would. Radical humility is needed to accept this, but that’s for another blog! ;)