Successful Change Management featuring Laura Quinn

[AI ] TRANSCRIPT:

“You really want to do the work to gain the insights, to really build a smart strategy that doesn't shift when things get tricky, right? Because they might and they probably will. Right. Change is hard.”

Let's talk about managing change. With me today is Laura Quinn. You'll find Laura where city building meets culture making and public relations meets public affairs. Laura is a nonprofit leader who's worked throughout the culture and community sectors, including with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, with the United Way Greater Toronto. And she's currently director of communications with the Art Gallery of Ontario. And she's a board member with the local, an online magazine that covers urban health and social issues in Toronto. Welcome, Laura. It's so great to see you. Thank you for being with us today.

Thanks. It's good to see you too, Heather.

So let's talk about managing change. You have some insights and advice.

Yeah. I mean, look, I think there's there's two truths, right? One is the only constant is change. And the other is that for many people, maybe even most people experiencing change, it can be hard, right? So I think your organization, you you will experience change. It's inevitable. Right. In our world, like maybe it's a program that's evolving or an admission model that needs to be updated. But really managing that change with with care and with authenticity and with planning, it's going to help you get to the place that your mission needs you to be. And take all your supporters, all your partners, all your audiences along with you. And so I think how you manage that is super important. So - five tips.

I would say kind of the first one is you want to be really clear about why you're making the change and what the change is.

So maybe you're making it might be a bit of a tough choice, but it will be for a strong rationale. Right? Sure. Right. So so what is that strong rationale. Bring people in so that they can understand why these changes. You want to be really clear and really concise about the change. What the new situation is, when it'll happen. And what this means for people will be impacted by it. These are your key messages. What is the new? Why you're making the shift. And then also I would say, if you can, if there is consistency name what that consistency is, what's not changing.

So you really want to frame up and be super clear and really human thinking about who who your audience that's this is going to impact. What what that changes. So those are really your key messages. That would be the first step.

I would say the second piece then is identifying who cares and why they care.

So it's that stakeholder mapping. You can start is just like a bit of a building, a listing exercise, like a bit of a brain dump. But just like name all the people, all the groups. You know, if it's relevant, you can get granular to individual people, but just who who is impacted this who who cares who has a stake.

And then you're going to start mapping it or tracking. So looking at some of these groups and these people, what relationships do they have. How do they influence each other. Who else do they influence. Were they connected to? They also want to identify who are your ambassadors. Who can really advocate for this change alongside you. And so you're starting to map that out. And then that'll start to inform your rollout plan. Like, who needs to know first. What order do you need to share info with people.

And then also depending on kind of what stage in the process you're doing, your mapping, you may even consider who you need to consult right to to inform the decision of the change. Like what does that change look like and why? Or even just like what approvals you need to, to govern your process through change a lot too.

Yeah. I love it - I'm hearing both the linear and envisioning this constellation. I have a real visual of that now. Thank you.

Yeah, there's there's an art to it and a science to it, too. Oh, boy. Right. So you've got that right. You know what? You're you're very clear on what you're changing and why. And you've kind of identified who who cares and who’s impacted. So you want to build a smart plan. And, and you want to stick to it.

So you're you're not going to build that plan in a vacuum. You're going to have data to validate the change. And you're going to consult with your key stakeholders early enough for some qualitative data to inform your approach as well too. So that kind of hard and soft information.

You really want to do the work to gain the insights, to really build a smart strategy. That doesn't shift when things get tricky, right? Because they might and they probably will too. Right. Change is hard. And you don't want to waffle. You've done the work to know what the what changes needed, why it's needed. And and so then you really want to make sure that when things get tricky, you're going back to your first principles. And you're making the decision that you would have made a sound mind, not when you're in potentially, like, the crunchy bit of change.

Yeah. That makes perfect sense, I like that. You're setting yourself up to be able to deal with the surprises that make them along, but you're doing it with a really solid and strategic foundation.

Yeah. I mean, it's even just when when things get a little tough because change is hard. So you know, to be able to do that and stick with that plan. You need to be really empathetic. And to manage conversations.

So my fourth tip would be just conversations. And that's because change conversations. They can be hard, right? People, maybe as much as you've been very clear about what the changes and why it's needed. It may be a change that's really important in the long run, but in the short term it might be a bit tricky. Difficult. So you really want to have, people understand kind of where you're going and what you need to do. So I'd say take the time for conversation, training, practice your key messages in language that feels authentic to you. And other people on your team should be able to make those those messages authentic to themselves as well.

I'd also practice anticipated questions too. You can do this across teams. You can do this with colleagues. A kind of role-play really, you know, what is the conversation we're gonna have? I'm going to practice kind of telling my change story. What are some questions that I anticipate in real time, kind of being able to navigate?

We are humans. We are not robots. So really, you've got clear messages. You're an empathetic listener, and then you're also kind of giving space for people throughout the change, conversation.

And then the last piece that I would say is you really want to be consistent. In change, there's lots of moving parts. It's just the nature of change, right? Things are changing. Things are moving.

But what you want is to keep things as consistent as possible. You want your messaging with stakeholders and on your channels to be as consistent as possible. So everyone involved in your project should really understand and embrace the key messages and the core narrative. Mixed messages is going to create confusion and doubt. And you don't want that, as you're moving through change to something new.

So that then brings you back up to the to the first point, right, which is making sure you're clearing concise messages.

So, you know what I think it is? I think, change, change, change is inevitable. Change is going to happen. I believe in all of us that we're doing change, for important reasons. And to move through it.

So really kind of taking this time to kind of think through the people impacted, the plan in place and kind of managing for that change, will will help you get to where you need to be.

Yeah, I love it. It's so true and so applicable to so many different situations right now. Thank you so much for talking us through this. I so appreciate you and, and hearing your insights. Laura. It's such a joy. Thank you.

Thank you. This was fun.

Change management is really about people, and it's about helping people through a change situation. And how she spoke about bringing people through the process together in an aligned and strategic and thoughtful way. So I think there's so much there that we can apply to so many different situations right now. I'm Heather Kelly. This is a High Five for arts leaders and creative entrepreneurs. And I'll see you again next week.