Commcoterie

Hey Reader, Have you ever heard a leader say that their business is too small for strategy? I haven’t. Heck, I have business of one, and I have strategies for business development, marketing, sales, networking, service delivery, client relations, and more. Which is why I’m so surprised when leaders of small- and medium-sized purpose-driven organizations say that they’re too small for change management. The Association of Change Management Professionals defines change management as “the...

Hey Reader, At last week’s Organizational Change Office Hours, someone asked a great question in the Q&A, one that I hear from leaders all the time: How much planning do I have to do for a change? The question doesn’t surprise me. When your organization is planning for change on top of everything else you have to do on a daily basis, it can feel totally daunting. And when change is constant? Does that mean endless cycles of planning and planning and planning again? When is the real work...

Hey Reader, Are you a list person? I am. I have my business operations Tasks in Notion, my iPhone Notes for grocery shopping and recipes I want to try, my journal for creative projects, my post-its for reminders that defy category, and more. I love my lists, but on each one, there tends to be an item that overstays its welcome. You know. That THING that just won't budge, that you can't check off, that seems too heavy or insurmountable or both. The leaders I work with are inspiring,...

Hey Reader, Most of the time, when I ask leaders if their organizations are change-ready, they’re honestly not sure. So at our last office hours, we dug into change readiness: what it is, how to tell if your organization is change-ready, and what leaders can do to start building a change-ready culture today. As far as what it is, the easiest way to define it is right there in the name: are employees and the organization ready for change? But wait…the employees or the org? Change in general or...

Hey Reader, As someone who helps values-centered companies create organizational change, clients usually come to me at a very specific time: when there’s a big change on the horizon! Whether they have a spark of an idea and need a thought partner to help them shape a strategy or they present a clear and pressing need that must be addressed, the change is present. But are people ready for it? Not only are most leaders I talk to not sure, they don’t exactly know what change readiness means. If...

Hey Reader, At last week’s Organizational Change Office Hours, someone asked a great question: “What can I do when I want to communicate about the changes we have going on, but I don’t have any actual information to share?” It's a great question, and when I looked in my notes later that day, I realized that someone had asked a similar question during office hours at least twice in 2023, so this person was definitely not alone. One of the things they were concerned about was...

Hey Reader, Hope your 2024 is off to a good start so far. Over here, I like to keep the New Year period low pressure and high in self-compassion. While I’m all about reflection and strategic planning, over the years, I’ve found that it’s not only less stressful to do those things in my regular, year-round practice (rather than try to cram it all in when I’d rather be eating mince pies and explaining to my toddler that yes, every single snowflake is one-of-a-kind), but it’s more impactful...

Hey Reader, As we approach the end of the year, I’m doing a lot of strategic planning work with clients. Just like our change work, we do this a little differently; we talk about a 5-year vision but only design a strategy for one year (you know what they say about the best-laid plans). We examine business strategy, people, and culture, and ensure that all are given equal weight in the planning process. And of course, we design change-focused strategies for the year driven by effective and...

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...

Hey Reader, 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 (even if they don’t realize it), and making decisions and taking actions based on it. But it’s not too late! Start now! And if you don't have an enthusiastic change culture, it’s best to start as early as...