Hey Reader,

I’ll be honest: I haven’t been on the receiving end of any major organizational change in, uh, well…years. As a solopreneur, I’ve at most been simply annoyed by the day-to-day incompetencies of various healthcare or financial institutions, but none of the organizations I’m a member of have led any large-scale changes.

Until recently.

Last week, our childcare provider (which is also my husband’s employer) shocked parents and teacher alike with a huge change. If you’ve been to Commcoterie events before, you’ve probably seen this slide that describes how change usually happens at orgs:

Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened to us. AND IT SUCKED (oh, and continues to suck, of course, because the uproar has only just begun).

I’ll be honest, it’s surreal to be on the receiving end of change. It’s been a while! And despite this change being not-so-great (and now a big time-suck) for me, I’m kind of glad I’m experiencing it — because it’s reinforcing a few things I know about organizational change:

1. It hurts to have change happen to you rather than with you
2. When you communicate without understanding or caring about your audience, you communicate poorly
3. Crappy change management wastes time, energy, and other resources — and (I would say most importantly) it damages relationships

I’m probably going to be thinking and talking about this change quite a bit as it unfolds, so stay tuned (on the schedule this week: open letter! town halls!). Although I'm 90% annoyed, 10% of me is hopeful.

It's encouraging that the way Commcoterie catalyzes change — restoratively — is the opposite of what’s happening to me right now.

When companies practice restorative organizational change:

• They create change with people rather than positioning change as something that happens to them
• They acknowledge that even “inevitable” changes require collaborating with everyone involved to move from the present state to the future state
• They communicate in a way that never pits the organization against its people

In an effort to further encourage the audience questions that make our public events so valuable, we've recently "rebranded" our monthly roundtable to Organizational Change Office Hours — the next one (and last one of 2023!) is Thursday, November 9th at 1:00 PM EST.

We’re going to talk about how you can kick off 2024 by nurturing a culture of restorative organizational change so that you can build trust, communicate more effectively, use resources more efficiently, and drive people-focused change at your company.

Will I see you there? If you haven’t signed up yet, you can register here.

Talk soon,

Caitlin Founder, Commcoterie

P.S. — Want to spread the word? Share the office hours on your social! Here's an image you can use:

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We always appreciate it when folks spread the word. If you share on LinkedIn, remember to tag Caitlin and Commcoterie so we can return the favor!

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Change & communication resources

When to Start Planning for Change on the Commcoterie blog One question I get from leaders more than almost any other is: when should I start planning for change? When I dig a little deeper, I always realize that the ideal start time has passed. The leader knows a change is coming, so they’re already thinking about it, talking about it, and making decisions and taking actions based on it. But it’s never too late! If you're falling behind, here's how to catch up. Read more on the blog

The Top 10 Companies with Open Employee Handbooks​ from Open Org Developing or revamping your employee handbook and need some inspiration? Recently, Adam Horne of Open Org posted a great roundup on LinkedIn of the Top 10 Companies with Open Employee Handbooks. I've seen a few of them before and can't wait to dig into the rest. Have a favorite that's not on the list? Let me know. Check out the roundup

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