​Hey Reader,​

In the last few weeks, I’ve had conversations with two folks who lead mergers and acquisitions at global organizations; one at a for-profit company and one at a nonprofit.

Both organizations are considered leaders in their respective industries. Each one has 20,000+ employees, more than $1B in annual revenue, and entire teams dedicated to changes like M&A.

Know what they also have?

• High employee turnover rates post-acquisition
• Painful, expensive change experiences that damage morale, trust, performance, and productivity
• No idea what they’re doing wrong!

And yet…they keep doing what they’re doing.

Leaders of giant organizations seem to measure the success of their changes by whether or not it is “done”

We acquired the little guy. We did the thing. Check!

But I know better, and so do the leaders of the smaller companies and nonprofits I work with.

They know that a change isn’t a success if half of their employees leave.

They know that a change isn’t a success if there is a huge decline in performance and productivity.

They know that a change isn’t a success if their remaining employees lose trust in them.

Those outcomes are harmful for everyone involved. And they don't just happen during acquisitions.

Change happens at every organization in a multitude of ways, and a lot can go wrong

A long learning curve when you're adopting new technology, misalignment when launching a new product or service, a lack of engagement during a restructure or leadership transition, or less-than-stellar outcomes during a year's most typical changes can make a success on paper (We have the new tech! We launched the thing! We hired a new Director!) seem like an exhausting fail in reality.

Why do the big guys manage change so poorly?

I mean, power, capitalism, stubbornness…you know, the normal reasons.

But whatever the root reason is, overall, it happens because they do not center the people impacted by the change when they first design their change strategy.

Employees don’t resist change (or quit or ignore changes) because they’re trying to be jerks.

Their resistance isn’t something that has to be fought, overcome, or managed.

Employees have to be understood. And this is a leader’s job.

In my latest blog post, Why do employees resist change?, I dig into what change resistance is, why employees might resist change, and what leaders can do about change resistance in order to lead more effective, compassionate, and successful change.

Because the people are not the problem. Not having a people-focused strategy is.

Is your organization moving through or planning changes? What are the biggest barriers you face? Reply here and let me know. I read and respond to every email!

Talk soon,

Caitlin Founder, Commcoterie

P.S. — Have changes large or small coming up through the rest of 2024 and feel like you could use some support? Join me and a group of awesome leaders of small and midsize purpose-driven companies and nonprofits to talk about how to ideate, navigate, and communicate more effective, compassionate, people-focused organizational change at our next Organizational Change Office Hours on Thursday, July 25th at 2pm EST on Zoom. You can register here, and please share with anyone else you think might benefit.

Out and about: Here are a few conferences I'll be traveling to and speaking at in the second half of 2024

Are you heading to any conferences? Let me know! I'm always looking to hop on a plane, train, or bus and be in community with peers, colleagues, and clients. And if you're in Boston or Atlanta and want to meet or work together IRL, get in touch so we can set something up.

11th Annual Strategic Internal Communications Conference in Boston, MA I'll be kicking off the conference with the very first workshop: Crafting Communication That Catalyzes Change. An organization’s ability to create, navigate, and communicate change is vital. And yet, many communicators don’t know exactly how to help drive successful organizational change that sticks. In this workshop, we’ll explore three strategic change communication pillars and their associated tactics that make change communication more compelling. Attendees will be able to bring existing change messaging from their organization or craft new communication during the workshop and use what we learn to create messaging that informs, engages, and motivates employees to not only take ownership over current changes, but be change-ready for future changes. More about the conference

BLD Southeast in Atlanta, GA BLD Southeast is a regional celebration of the B Corp community. B Corps and mission-driven businesses from across the region will gather to learn and connect at the second ever in-person B Leadership Development (BLD) conference in the Southeast, hosted by B Local Georgia, B Tennessee, B Local WNC/Asheville, Florida For Good, B Local Triangle NC, B Local Mid-Atlantic, and B Louisiana, along with B Corps in Alabama, Kentucky, and South Carolina. As a native Floridian, I'm so excited to head south! They haven't released the full agenda, but I'm hoping my workshop, Building Change-ready Organizations through your Purpose, Processes, and People, will be accepted! I'd also love to moderate a panel of B Corp leaders to discuss how they navigate change and what changes they have on the horizon for 2024 and beyond. We'll see! More about the conference

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