Deliver the change message
Chouinard knew his company and its employees needed better direction. There needed to be a plan that could be easily communicated so that everyone knew what he or she was supposed to be doing.
“You need to have a good plan in place, and you need to articulate the plan,” Chouinard says. “Sometimes, there are tough decisions and your employees need to understand where you’re going. If you want to keep them motivated and moving forward, you have to be able to tell them why you’re making your decision and why you want to get there. What are the consequences if we’re not going there? How are you going to keep them up to date? How are you going to communicate the progress you’re making?”
His ability to deliver a clear message about how things would be changing would go a long way toward implementing this change effectively.
“It’s really believing in what you’re going to say and being in control of what you’re going to talk about,” Chouinard says. “If you’re not comfortable with what you’re about to say, you shouldn’t say it. People would see right through it. If you’re not passionate about it and you don’t believe in it, it’s obvious that it’s not a good thing.”
Here is where the inconsistency and lack of direction in message was really leading to problems at HearUSA.
“Sometimes our leaders get a message from us and turn around and say something completely different,” Chouinard says. “That’s usually because they don’t take the time to process the information or they thought they understood, but they did not really care to ask more questions. That’s why it’s really important to always stay on top of it and communicate directly with them and make sure they understand.”
To combat this problem, Chouinard made a concerted effort for face-to-face meetings with his people or for meetings in small groups where he could speak directly to his people.
“Communicate the vision directly to them,” Chouinard says.
He says that he couldn’t speak to everyone in person. So when you’re tasking others with the job of delivering a message, make sure you ask questions and d
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all you can to prepare the messenger for the questions they might receive. When you’re prepping them for their conversations with employees, step down from your pedestal and speak to them at your level.
“You need to be open to suggestions and not think that you’re always right,” Chouinard says. “You need to be humble and open to suggestions. They have to be strong enough to say what they have to say and make suggestions. If you leave that door open with your employees and they are still yes-people, you have to make a move. You just can’t tolerate that.”
If they are just yes-people, they aren’t going to have the belief that they need when they speak to your employees. If they have concerns but don’t feel free to address them with you, that will show through when they speak to others.
“Always seek input from them instead of just telling them what to do,” Chouinard says. “You need to involve them and empower them to make their own decision. You need to find people that you have an affinity with and that you can work with. You need people that will take your vision and your strategies and help you implement them.”
At the same time, you’re the leader and you need to remember that. If you truly believe it’s the right way to go, you need to get your people on board with it.
“As long as you can explain what you do and why you’re doing it and you can make your employees understand the vision of where you’re going, they will respect you for that,” Chouinard says.