Communication is essential in change management? Yes, we knew that already

A Wall Street Journal article offers nothing new in its advice on how to handle low employee morale

A professor from San Francisco State University recently cited three examples to explain that when employees are dealing with difficult change initiatives, leaders have to talk with them.

Stunning, eh?

Professor Mitchell Lee Marks writes, in this week’s Wall Street Journal, that empathy, making the business case and getting employees to think about the future are essential to helping them let go of the past and move on.

It ain’t brain surgery, but for many business folks, the fact that there are actual people hiding under the numbers on the income statements can come as a bit of a shock.

Here’s a quick rundown of Dr. Marks’ thinking—and my two cents.

• Dr. Marks recommends empathy because employees often feel that no one understands their pain. He calls for leaders to acknowledge their staffs’ feelings of fear and resentment when dealing with unwelcome changes.