You CAN turn apathy around

It’s pretty easy to identify those who will champion or object to an impending change.

But this ignores the quiet ones.

It’s those who we score as either neutral or advocates.

They may be apathetic.

Which just might matter.

This was one of many topics I discussed with Paul Ichilcik on one of the richest, and I think most useful, Cutting Through episodes so far.

He suggests apathy plays a big role and offers suggestions to overcome that.

Paul said, “The biggest mistake is staying in the realm of business rationale.”

This type of messaging is essential and likely persuasive for decision-makers.

But the closer you get to the shop floor, the less effective that rationale will be in persuading people to act.

Although the substance stays substantively the same as you cascade a message down an organisation, the messaging needs to change.

Here’s how he thinks about it:

• Business rationale works when communicating upward to get decisions. Leaders think conceptually and are motivated by the strategy and the numbers. At this level, discussing how a market might be attractive or how a strategy would drive operational advantage can be very successful.
• Personal relevance works when communicating downward to drive implementation. Middle management can get stuck when trying to disseminate standard messaging that comes from internal communications teams.

Here are some suggestions:

• • Focus on how a new strategy or a change affects people’s roles and career opportunities
  • Provide specific examples of what the change might result in for their specific situation, i.e., now we do this, but going forward we’ll do that.
  • Avoid vague terms like ‘innovation’ and ‘collaboration,’ as they are overused and few people really know what they mean.

Download our communication framework we used to guide the conversation here, and feel free to share it with your colleagues.

You’ll find it in the shownotes near the top of the page.

You can always listen to the full episode of Cutting Through on your favourite podcast player too.

I hope to see you there.
Davina

I know you didn’t ask, but …

As you read this, I’m exploring a popular Pacific Northwest activity – Backpacking.
Two girlfriends and I are hiking and camping on the Olympic Penninsula. Wish us luck!
Here’s a pic of me with my friend Tanya on last weekend’s training hike.
Wish us luck!

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