LDR 615 Why is effective and frequent communication so critical to a successful change effort? Re: Topic 5 DQ 2
Answer for LDR 615 Why is effective and frequent communication so critical to a successful change effort?
Re: Topic 5 DQ 2
Effective and frequent communication is critical to a successful change effort because it dispels myths, creates trust, and mitigates resistance. Effective communication that I have witnessed is the Friday emails that our director of the healthcare organization sends out to all staff. In this email, he recognizes staff, discusses the good work that was done that week, highlights vision for where our organization is heading, and discusses important events. I think this communication strategy is important because Cheraghi et al. (2023) suggests “if the information provided about the change is timely, valid, informative, and sufficient, a more positive evaluation of the change will emerge in the individual”. This strategy of weekly, consistent communication really strengthens culture because it rewards positive behaviors that the facility endorses and it also explains the “why” for the changes, and shows that leadership is supporting this change because it is for the good of the organization and its stakeholders. This weekly email also allows for all employees to understand and learn about their director since most people don’t interact with him on a daily or even weekly basis. It evidently builds trust and professional relationships with staff that is key to building a trusting culture that is willing to follow their leader through change. Issah (2018) endorses “At this stage in the change process, the social skills of the leader is essential for effectively communicating the change to the staff. Emotionally intelligent leaders know and therefore create an environment of open communication for those to be affected by the change to contribute in analyzing the present situation of the organization and to share in the future desired state of the organization. Our director also hosts a monthly all employee Town Hall meeting where employees and other stakeholders can ask questions and have discussions regarding certain decisions or change initiatives. Because of the weekly and monthly modes of communication strategies, they allow for feedback, negotiation, information-sharing, and the building of trust to occur which are necessary ingredients for the success of a change initiaitive.
References
Cheraghi, R., Ebrahimi, H., Kheibar, N., & Sahebihagh, M. H. (2023). Reasons for resistance to change in nursing: an integrative review. BMC Nursing, 22(1), 310. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01460-0
Issah, M. (2018). Change Leadership: The Role of Emotional Intelligence. Sage Journals, 8(3). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018800910
