Communicators as Change Makers IABC Leadership Institute
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The document outlines strategies for communicators to act as change makers based on a leadership institute presentation. It discusses how small conversations can lead to great change and introduces concepts like getting out of your own way, leaping before being ready, and focusing on bright spots. Attendees were instructed to brainstorm ideas to further a desired change, plot them on a chart by level of impact, and get input from others on a disruptive change hack.
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Communicators as Change Makers IABC Leadership Institute
- 1. Communicators as Change Makers IABC Leadership Institute February 25, 2017
- 5. 5 VERY GREAT CHANGE STARTS FROM VERY SMALL CONVERSATIONS, HELD AMONG PEOPLE WHO CARE Margaret Wheatley
- 6. WHAT HAPPENED AT SOLVAY?
- 7. IS THIS OUR SOLVAY? PICTURE OF LI CROWD
- 9. THE CHANGE MAKER’S PLAYBOOK X X X
- 10. GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY
- 15. CHANGE HACKS 1 IDENTIFY A PERSON AT YOUR TABLE WHO WANTS TO MAKE A CHANGE 2 BRAINSTORM & JOT DOWN IDEAS ON HOW TO MOVE THAT CHANGE FORWARD 3 PLOT THE IDEAS ON THE CHART GREEN – SMALL NUDGE BLUE – MEDIUM CHANGE RED – DISRUPTIVE TRANSFORMATION
- 16. SWITCH! CHANGE MAKER SWITCHES TABLES 2 1 INTRODUCE YOUR CHANGE BRIEFLY SUMMARIZE THE IDEAS YOU’VE GATHERED 3 ASK THE TABLE TO HELP YOU FIND ONE DISRUPTIVE CHANGE HACK
Hinweis der Redaktion
- It’s an honour to be here… I’ve spent my whole career doing what I can to be in service of communicators – focused on working with communities of communicators to help them grow their skills, capabilities and confidence in becoming invaluable strategic contributors. So, today is the next chapter in that conversation. I have 3 goals for our time together: Share some ideas on how as a communicator you can really step up as change makers Use that content as a springboard for you to connect some of your learnings and inspiration from LI to those themes so that you create a game plan for what actions and changes you want to take when you go back home Make sure you feel absolutely set up to succeed in implementing new ideas – give you a sense that you’re flying with a net because you’re equipped with great improvement ideas you got from the Conference, but also a realistic and proven game plan to make these new ideas actually work
- Now this is probably not the image you have in mind when you think about a day in the life of a communicator. But the reality is, that very often, this is exactly what the experience feels like for many practitioners. From conversations I’ve had with thousands of communicators over several years, it’s clear that too often, we are treated like short order cooks. We are putting out fires, trying to keep up with people barking random orders at us, and basically getting no respect. And of course, none of us went into communications to have this kind of experience. What we really want…
- Is we want to be communications rock stars! We want to do work that matters, we want to work to the full scope of our abilities… ultimately, we want to make a difference, and hopefully have a little fun while we’re at it. Is that too much to ask? The reality is that this may be more or less possible, depending on your particular career circumstance. However, one thing we know for sure is that by virtue of you being here – of you stepping up to be an IABC leader, you are self selecting yourself to have a place on the stage as a true communications rock star. You have created your own opportunity by getting involved at a leadership level with IABC, and you are to be commended for having the guts and the commitment to step up. IABC provides you with an amazing platform to make a dent in the universe. But it does require us to make a shift – away from a traditional model of authority where we have to wait for someone to tell us what to do, and how to do it. This is not about that formal, parochial, father-knows-best approach… not at all. Rather than waiting for authority, it’s about taking responsibility – and those who take responsibility create more responsibility and find their own opportunity in the process.
- In today’s context, it’s clear that leading through authority only gets you so far. Where things are really at is in leading change through influence, rather than authority. This is great news for communicators, because in our digital economy, the change makers are connectors – they are people that are good at bringing people together, having conversations and getting things done. And of course, this is what we do, it’s who we are. Think about it – is there a room, on this earth, that has more horse power, more savvy and more passion to lead change through influence? In the connection economy, there is no community better suited to rise and harness its power than this one – the world’s leaders in the communications community. So, I’d like to invite you to explore this theme of leading through influence, rather than authority, and start getting a sharper picture of your true sources of power. I’m betting you have way more power than you think you do. At your tables, have a quick 5 minute conversation exploring your sources of power. Think beyond formal authority, and consider your sources of informal power through influence. That might be the networks you have, the talents you can contribute, or the creativity you can share. (Check in with the group for rapid fire responses)
- While volumes have been written about leading change, in the end, it’s not any more complicated than this statement I love from Margaret Wheatley, one of the greatest thinkers of our age. Very great change starts from very small conversations held among people who care. This is how revolutions get started. It’s how political movements grow. And it’s how communities step up, raise up and make a difference.
- Here’s an interesting example of what I’m talking about. It’s a photo of the Solvay Conference, a major physics conference that took place in Brussels in 1927. If you look closely there, you’ll spot Albert Einstein in the front row, and a little to the left, Marie Curie. What’s remarkable is that 17 Nobel Prize winners in physics attended. What’s even more significant is that most of them weren’t Nobel winners when they attended – the amazing thing is that most went on to win the Nobel prize after attending the conference. So, when you think about it – the organizers of the conference didn’t just go down the list of Nobel Prize winners and invite them to the conference. What they did was much more about creating a platform for connection, for inspiration and for expectations. And when you went to that conference, you looked around and said, “Wow, I need to raise my bar.” Then you looked around and you said, “I am part of an extraordinary community – I can do extraordinary things.”
- So, what if this is our Solvay? Our gathering of extraordinary people who are going to surprise us and delight us with what they can accomplish when they go back home and work in their communities. If that’s true, that means that you are part of a Solvay movement – and that you can do things that will surprise and delight yourself with the impact and mark you can make.
- And while community is a powerful instrument of change, and the IABC community is truly remarkable, the truth of the matter is that where change will happen, where this becomes our Solvay, is at the individual level. It’s not about a group. It’s about you. It’s about an individual choice to take the ideas, tools and inspiration from LI and actually make something of it. Maybe it’s about how you want to bring the gift of communications program to your chapter, or how to improve succession planning or create member value. Whatever is going to happen, will be up to the individual – will be up to you. Otherwise, this is all just a one shot wonder – another conference that comes and goes, but then everything stays the same. I think your investment of time, effort and energy in LI, and some of the remarkable work I saw at the World Café and in the workshops is worth more than that. At this moment in time, when your brain is full of great ideas, and you have to catch up on all the things you left behind to be here, there is a risk of feeling stuck – of actually drowning in opportunity of good things that you can do. In my experience, it’s easy to be strategic and have the big idea – but where the real work happens, where the real heavy lifting takes place is in execution. It’s in the dogged determination to start with one thing, and then do the next thing after that, and the thing after that, until you see it through. So, I’d like to ask you – based on all the great best practices you’ve been exposed to and the terrific ideas you’ve heard, what’s the next best thing to do?
- To move the yardstick forward on changes you want to lead, I want to introduce you to a very brief playbook. These are key concepts aimed at moving from the planning to the critical execution stage in order to make change stick. Here goes.
- The place to start is to get out of your own way. This may sound strange, but the reality is that often, we are our own worst enemy. So often, we have self-limiting thoughts that block us from really stepping up to our full potential. I would suggest this is particularly true for the women in the room – so often, we have been conditioned to “Shrink to fit”. To be small, and not rock the boat. But we’ve come to LI to create a ruckus – so that means the first step is that we have to first get out of our own way. In my own experience, this has been a vital first step to any success I’ve achieved. Here’s what it’s looked like for me: I worked at Canada’s darling of the technology industry, Nortel Networks as a senior communications strategist. On the morning of September 11, 2001 when I was pregnant with our lovely videographer here, I was laid off as part of the biggest corporate downsizing in Canadian history. So, I decided to go into consulting and focus on my passion, which is strategic communications planning. Over the next couple of years, I was struck that there didn’t seem to be an established best practice process for the discipline – I really felt that was eroding our industry’s credibility. That really bothered me when I compared our industry to others, like the project managers who were backed up by their recognized PMBOK body of knowledge. So, I set out to create a process for strategic communications planning that we call the Results Map. Today, our process is used by thousands of communicators world-wide, thanks in no small part to the platform provided to us by IABC. Frankly, I would not be here in front of you today, if it wasn’t for the Results Map. But here’s the thing – in order for any of that to be possible, the very first thing that had to happen was for me to get out of my own way … to silence the nagging voice in my head that kept saying: ‘’Who am I to develop a best practice?” The only answer that mattered was that I was the one who was stepping up and claiming the space by doing the very best I could. That’s all I could do, and of course, it’s all anyone can do. But the first step is to believe that it is possible, that it’s worth it and that it’s your turn.
- The next step is that you have to wrap your head and your heart around the idea that you’re going to have to leap before you’re ready. If you wait for every detail to be buttoned down, every piece of information identified, every person consulted, you are going nowhere. Actually, in truth, that’s often an excuse and a place to hide. And change makers don’t hide – they step up and do the best they can with the information, time and resources they’ve got. It’s about progress, not perfection. You can achieve more than you ever imagined possible, but you have to take that first leap and then experiment your way through action and change.
- Now making change is an exciting thing to do, but let’s face it, it’s also particularly exhausting. You also have to make sure that you are fuelled with the energy and the passion required to push through. My suggestion is that you fuel your tank by really connecting to what I call your North Star. Your North Star is your individual sense of purpose, of meaning in what you’re doing. Maybe for one person, IABC involvement is all about mentoring and helping young people enter and grow in their communications careers. Others may be really passionate about offering learning and development opportunities to raise the bar on the professionalism of our industry. Ultimately, that North Star that you have will help drive you forward – think about it, and tap into its force to push you beyond what you thought possible. More importantly, when you get run down, tired or discouraged – come back to your North Star.
- When you are creating something new, or making a change, you are by definition in unchartered waters. In order to succeed, you have to get comfortable with the uncomfortable feeling of losing familiar reference points and boundaries. It’s the difference between strolling through a manicured walking path and hacking your way through the jungle. You are creating a path forward where none existed before. So you’ve got to expect a few scrapes and bruises along the way. But as long as you know where you’re going, you have your passion driving you and your North Star guiding you, you will get to where you’re going.
- One of the most important skills for a change maker is to cultivate the ability and habit of focusing on the bright spots. When facing a challenge, the brain naturally tends to zoom in on all the barriers and problems we face. We don’t have the money We don’t have enough time We don’t have the resources But if you want to drive change forward, you’ve got to turn this around and relentlessly focus on the bright spots. Force yourself to shut down the negativity and instead, dial into what’s working, even if it’s ever so small. For example, We had a great networking event last month We got a new sponsor We found a finance person for our Board Then, use that bright spot as a springboard to move forward. Again, always come back to the essential question – What’s the next best thing to do? If you had a great networking event, what were some of the factors that led to that success and how can you apply them to what you’re now working on? Remember, it’s always easier to build on success than on weakness.
- So now, let’s turn it over to you! We are going to try out a Change Hacks exercise together to give you a chance to apply some of these concepts right now, in this safe space. It’s very simple: First, I will ask that you identify one person at your table who wants to make a change (And we are talking here about your IABC work, so something you want to achieve through your IABC chapter or region). Then, the person will share their change project and the table will do a quick brainstorm to think about ideas on how to move the change forward. I’ll give you 7 minutes, so we’re working rapid fire here. I’ll then check in with the group and ask you to write down up to 3 ideas on sticky notes – 1 idea per sticky. Then, think about the nature of the idea you’ve come up with. [5 minutes] Is it a small nudge? Is it a medium-sized change? Or is it a really disruptive transformation, where you may actually break something? Then, one person from the table will take your ideas and plot them on our Change Hacks board at the front of the room. If you think your idea is a small nudge, you’ll stick it in the green rung, if it’s medium-sized, place it in the blue area, and if it’s really something pretty disruptive, then put in in the red. [3 minutes] So, for example, if the change you want to make is to increase student recruitment, you might brainstorm and come up with the idea of going to your local university campus and setting up an information kiosk in the Communications department. So you jot that idea down on a sticky and you assess its size – probably, that’s something like a medium-sized change, so then you place it on the board and put it in the blue area. (Cue group) (Provide feedback on the board)
- Now, I will ask the change maker from each table to move over to a table to your right… some of you may have to move either forward or backwards. It doesn’t matter much, as long as we have the change maker end up at a new table. Now, the change maker introduces their change and gives a very quick summary of ideas you collected in your brainstorm. Then ask the group to help you find one disruptive change hack. The reason is that even if that idea is way out there, it can often unlock insights for a new way of thinking, even if it’s not taken to the extreme. For example, if you were wanting to recruit student volunteers, then a disruptive change hack might be that you go to campus one night and create a pop up IABC coffee shop to greet the students and entice them to join. [5 mins] (Ask for a few examples)
- As we wrap things up, and you turn your mind to your return home, I’ll ask you to consider this: Just look at the incredible talent, energy and creativity that we’ve seen in action in this room over the past hour. I have every confidence that you have all the ideas and the savvy needed to really make a difference, and leave your mark. I can’t wait to watch you in action and see all that you accomplish. Remember: You are a communications rock star You don’t need permission and you don’t need to wait for someone to pick you You can step up, rise up and take responsibility and create your own opportunity You have absolutely everything you need to be a change maker Now, pick yourself and watch the magic happen. Thank you!