Change management can be described as bringing a lot of people from different starting points to a single destination. So often companies and not-for-profit agencies use a one-size fits all approach to communicating change or transformation to employees and stakeholders. Of course, everybody is not starting in the same place, either in terms of capacity to adapt or in understanding the goals. Realizing that we have to meet people where they are (and hear where they are), rather than where we would like them to be can be a real epiphany in change initiatives. We’re leading real people and not their job descriptions. A sensitively managed change project will reach out to people through multiple channels, multiple times. Most importantly, though, successful change initiatives are based on effective and active listening to people.
