Be honest about the changes.
The
first thing I did was say,
‘Everybody get out of the suit
and tie. You can all go business casual now.’ That just
sent a little message to everybody that, ‘OK, it’s a different
day now.’ Everybody can get a
little more relaxed.
I pulled everybody in and
told them, ‘Here’s the decisions I’m making, this is why
we have to make them, this
is what we’re going to do,
and I’m asking you to try to support me through this and
stay on this bus. Here’s the
vision; here’s what we’ve got
to do to get through this.’
You establish quick, open,
honest communication to all
levels of your staff as quickly
as possible, as openly as possible. And yet [you have to]
truly understand and know
the boundaries of not throwing them all away but understand and communicate
where the boundaries are
and where they’re not.
Involve employees in the continual
process.
Undersell and overde-liver. By that I mean, you go
and you ask what can make it
better for them. What can
make their lives better?
You don’t promise them the
world. You don’t promise them to fix everything at
once. You don’t promise to
do everything they ask.
You listen to what they have
to say to make things better.
Then, you take steps and you
get a couple quick wins to be
able to say, ‘Yeah, see, I have
listened. And, yes, things are
going to get better.’
I just kept encouraging
people: ‘Thank you, you need
to give me that feedback. I
need to know.’
(Managers) have modeled
that behavior after I did that
here, of going back and saying,
‘What do you need; what will
make it better?’
You continue to do that, and
you meet with them on a
regular basis. That’s how you
can create and shepherd that
culture.
HOW TO REACH: Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio, (614) 228-5200 or www.lssco.org
