Beyond the Basics: Next Level Questions to Equip Your Team for Transformative Change
Think about the last time you announced a change to your team. You likely presented what was changing, why the change was needed, how it would help your organization become bigger/better/faster, who would spearhead the effort and when it would happen.
Sound familiar?
When we work with clients, we begin with these first-level questions, which provide important foundational information about the change. But it’s important to not stop there. Taking the conversation to the next level will help your team move from being informed about the change to becoming partners in the change. To take the conversation to the next level, Switch recommends using the Next Level Questions to connect more deeply with your team and clarify the change process they will experience. Proactively responding to the Next Level Questions allows leaders to:
Demonstrate a higher degree of empathy for the experience people will have during a change, leading to increased trust and engagement
Drive business clarity about what will happen, resulting in better business outcomes
Next Level Questions
These questions delve into the individual aspects of change that might be causing anxiety or confusion among your team members. The graphic below shows how you can take your first-level questions to the next level.
Before you announce a change in your organization, think about how you would address each of these questions. At Switch, we use Next Level Questions in workshops to help leaders craft the message they will share with their teams about the change. We also use this tool to help leaders identify where additional information is needed so that they are able to better prepare their teams for change.
By proactively addressing the Next Level Questions, leaders create alignment across the leadership team and engage their team members and other stakeholders, leading to faster adoption of the change and achievement of desired business outcomes.
Next Level Questions in the Real Business World
Let’s look at an example of first-level questions compared to Next Level Questions. Imagine you lead Operations for an organization and are planning to implement automation and AI into your call center. With first level questions, you might say something like:
“We’ve seen a 20% uptick in call center cases in the past 6 months. As we grow through acquisition, we anticipate this rate will only increase. In response, our organization is implementing new automation and AI in our call centers to take on routine and repetitive tasks. This will free up our employees to do more value-add work. Jane Smith is heading up the program, which will roll out in phases starting late summer. We will send out communication to let you know progress and status as the work continues. Please let me know what questions you have.”
What might the conversation sound like if you consider the Next Level Questions?
What is changing and how does it fit into the future vision?
With the acquisitions our company is making, our customer base is growing fast. And while customers will always need routine assistance, our future vision is to also offer more consultative services. We don’t plan to hire additional people, so we want to create some space in the workload of our team members to take on this activity.
Why should I change?
I’ve heard from this team that you are seeking additional career growth, and I believe this will be a terrific opportunity for our people who wish to learn new skills and serve our customers in new ways.
Do I have a say in the change?
We have defined several workstreams for the project. We are seeking focus group participants, some subject matter experts in specific functional areas and other roles to influence the change. I’m posting a sign-up form on our Teams site for those of you interested in participating. We won’t be able to include everyone. We will be sure to have adequate representation across the team.
Do I have a say in the change?
We have defined several workstreams for the project. We are seeking focus group participants, some subject matter experts in specific functional areas and other roles to influence the change. I’m posting a sign-up form on our Teams site for those of you interested in participating. We won’t be able to include everyone. We will be sure to have adequate representation across the team.
Will I know how to do it? How much time do I have to adjust?
I don’t yet have all the answers and details on how our processes might change. Much of that will be defined as part of the project. I do commit to keeping you updated frequently at our department updates. I can share that we are planning early opportunities for people to get a jump on building some of the skills we think will be important on-going. We will also provide training prior to launch.
What if I still don’t understand?
We’ll begin rollout this summer and expect to be done before the winter holidays. While we will communicate regularly, feel free to talk with your supervisor or me if you have questions. We will also set up a change network of representatives to support this effort – Once we do that, you’ll be able to submit questions through your change champion.
You as a leader demonstrate empathy, provide greater clarity, and encourage stronger engagement, which leads to better adoption if you communicate with all your stakeholders in ways that proactively respond to these questions (even if people have not directly asked the questions).
At Switch, we want to help make change easier for you and your teams. Employing Next Level Questions does not require a significant amount of time but will make a significant impact on the success of your project. If you’d like to understand how you can introduce Next Level Questions to your transformation, reach out to us, we’d love to discuss that with you.
For more information about Switch and how we can help you, send us an email at contact@switchconsultinggroup.com. If you’re interested in receiving our latest articles in your inbox or hearing about upcoming webinars, submit your email address in the “Stay in the Know” form below.