Four Strategies to Help Executives Communicate Through Change

One of the most important contributors to successful organizational change is effective sponsorship, or leadership, of the change. We see this over and over in our work with clients, from mid-size companies to Fortune 500 organizations.  

Data from the 12 key benchmarking studies conducted by Prosci Inc. from 1998 to 2023 all say the same. If you’re an executive at an organization embarking on a transformational change, success starts with you. And that success is largely dependent on your ability to communicate effectively with your direct reports, who must also take up the torch and lead the change with their teams. In this article, we outline four communication strategies uniquely designed for executives who need to lead their teams through organizational transformation.  

1. Create a 30-second elevator pitch

How would you describe the change to a direct report, stakeholder, or even to a friend if you only had a 15-floor elevator ride with them to do it? As an executive, people will look to you to “signal” the coming change and the need for it. You have the opportunity to ensure the message that is cascaded throughout your company includes the context you want attached to the change. That cascade starts with your direct reports, who are leaders of specific organizations or functions within your company. To set the stage for their acceptance, begin with a simple three- to five-sentence statement that’s focused on the high-level “why” and “what.”  

Example: Our business is based on the relationships our people have with our customers. We know when we help our customers win, we win, too. That’s why we’ll be making changes that allow us to: 

• Take back the relationships that third parties have with our customers 

• Partner with customers to increase their sales of our products  

• Improve our employees’ experience, and 

• Improve our execution at the store level. 

Once you have your overarching elevator pitch, you can begin using it to “signal” to your SVPs, VPs and other direct reports that the change is coming. 

2. Layer in detail to paint a picture of the future

After the overarching elevator pitch has been socialized with your direct reports, ensure the program team drafts a more robust story about the future state. Start with your elevator pitch statement, and then layer in details about the transformation and the overarching reasons for it to create a compelling “case for change.” Some of the additional details should connect the change effort to your business strategy, so that it can be viewed as a “proof point” that you are executing on your larger strategy, not making the change as a disconnected, one-off project.  

The goal is to paint a picture of the (better) future that is clear enough for your direct reports—and ultimately your employees—to see themselves in it. However, your Case for Change shouldn’t be all roses. You’ll need to balance optimism about the future state with the realities of the current state—and the effort that will be needed to journey from one to the other.  

When working with client executives to develop a visionary story and a Case for Change, we glean language and insights from stakeholder interviews, business strategy documents, Corporate Communication teams, and the company vision for the future to help craft a more detailed story about the change that is robust and balanced.  

Soliciting your direct reports’ input to help develop the Case for Change is essential, and can further foster trust and lay the groundwork for solid leadership alignment. (See also Leadership Alignment for tips on getting support for change.) 

3. Be authentic, transparent, and courageous

Even if people don’t like a change, they’ll often be more open if the reasons for it make sense and they trust the leader—you—who is advocating for it. Trust is nurtured with authenticity and transparency, and sometimes these take a little courage.  

For example, some executives feel uncomfortable admitting to their direct reports that they don’t have all the answers. However, it can be beneficial for your team to see you as human, not perfect, as it gives them the space to do the same.  

Saying, early on, “We don’t have all the answers yet, but our goal is to [insert program objectives], and I’ll share more as we continue forward,” can help you earn trust.  

 Also, it’s “human” to acknowledge that the change may not be easy, won’t happen overnight, and may not be perfect, at first. But if your direct reports are to advocate for the change with you, they’ll need to believe that the challenges of changing will be worth it in the end—so keep the future pay-off in their minds by repeating the overarching elevator pitch and Case for Change. 

Pro Tip: Socialize elevator pitch and Case for Change in alignment with overall communication plan

In our client work with executives, we bring you, your leadership team, and the program team together to develop the elevator pitch and the Case for Change, and then we align the timing of their use with the overall stakeholder engagement & communication plan to ensure the right stakeholders are being informed at the right time and in the right sequence.

4. Ask your direct reports to develop their own, specific elevator pitch and Case for Change 

Nothing says, “this change is important and I want you to own leading it, too,” like asking your SVPs, VPs and other direct reports to develop their own group-specific elevator pitch and Case for Change, focused on how the change will affect their specific teams.  

For example, your direct report who leads HR might start from the example overarching elevator pitch above and develop an HR-specific elevator pitch and Case for Change that focus on: 

• How the change will improve employee experience 

• Benefits and impacts to HR professionals 

• HR’s role in the change, and  

• Employee training needed (to make the transition on Day 1, better partner with customers to increase sales and/or to improve execution at the store level) 

This is a valuable exercise because it helps your direct reports:  

• Identify critical questions they have about the change, which allows the program team to address these early on, creating better leadership alignment 

• Begin to feel ownership of the change  

• Buy into the change’s benefits and develop empathy for those impacted, which will help them deliver approved communications to their people more authentically 

The readout and feedback exercises that we facilitate for client executive teams can be done during a regular executive team meeting or a special offsite. These discussions greatly enhance the overall communication plan and the quality of the standardized communications. Ultimately, these strategies will help you and your team approach the change—and your communication about it—from a position of greater awareness, alignment and understanding, which creates a better experience for all. 

Successfully navigating organizational change begins with effective communication from executives. Switch Consulting Group helps executives hone their communication skills, ensuring that their messages resonate first with their direct reports and ultimately, with all employees.  

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.