Where managers fit in your change management model

If you study a change management model (it doesn’t matter which one, take your pick), there will be a point in the process where communication starts. Stakeholders need to be informed, inspired, calmed and engaged to move an organization successfully through a change. It’s crucial to be strategic about how and when that communication begins.

Most agree that engaging stakeholders in a time of change must be done. It gets trickier when you start to examine how best to engage different audiences inside the organization. The people leaders, or managers, in your organization are key to helping address these challenges. In fact, leaders at all levels — teams, departments or divisions — are a part of the change process.

The larger the organization, the more you must include all your leaders in your change communications process. Even the best-laid employee communication plan will get a significant boost in its reach and effectiveness when it is reinforced by the leaders who interact with people on a regular basis.