Move guide
Bring people with it
Your report suggested a move on at least one of these two practices:
- whether the few behaviours that matter are named and reinforced;
- how the story reaches people and how fatigue is managed.
This move guide briefs managers first and has them take the story to their teams. The floor's questions get answers. Then it names the few behaviours the programme needs, and makes sure leaders are seen doing them.
1. When it applies
Use this move guide if your report placed either practice in the lowest two stages.
| Practice | Where it may sit today | Where this move guide aims |
|---|---|---|
| Whether the few behaviours that matter are named and reinforced | Lagging: "Culture change is a workstream with a poster, and leaders behave exactly as they did before." Basic: "A list of values or behaviours was launched; it is longer than five items, and nothing in routines or pay has changed." |
Competent: "Three to five specific behaviour shifts are named, with the from and the to written down, and leaders are seen doing them." |
| How the story reaches people and how fatigue is managed | Lagging: "There was an email at launch, people hear the rest from the rumour mill, and the Christmas party was cut to save a few thousand dollars." Basic: "A communication plan exists and fires in one direction on a schedule; questions from the floor go unanswered." |
Competent: "Line managers are briefed before their teams and take the story to them in person, and questions from the floor get answered." |
If both already sit at the middle stage or higher, skip this move guide.
It runs from launch, beside running the programme. The case it tells comes from making the case and sizing the ambition.
2. What to do
Three steps, from launch, then monthly.
- Agree a few messages, then brief managers first. Put one governing thought, the point everyone should remember, over three or four messages, each with its proof. Managers then take the story to their teams in person. Answer the floor's questions in writing. The communication-fatigue worksheet holds the plan.
- Check the mood monthly, and change the message when people stop listening.
- Name three to five behaviour shifts, each with its from and its to. Leaders model them, and routines and pay notice them. The behaviours-reflexes worksheet records them.
Table A below holds the messages, the order and the behaviours on one page.
The two free worksheets do the recording:
- /worksheets/transformation/behaviours-reflexes for the behaviour shifts;
- /worksheets/transformation/communication-fatigue for the briefing plan and the questions.
3. What to produce
One table, plus the two worksheets above.
Table A. Messages, order and behaviours
| Item | Words | Who | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Governing thought | Chief executive | Launch | |
| Message 1, with its proof | |||
| Message 2, with its proof | |||
| Message 3, with its proof | |||
| Briefing: managers first | Leadership team | Before any team hears it | |
| Behaviour 1: from, to | |||
| Behaviour 2: from, to | |||
| Behaviour 3: from, to |
A message with no proof under it is a slogan.
4. A worked example
Illustrative. Written for this move guide. It describes no client.
A plastics manufacturer announced its programme by email. Staff heard the rest from the rumour mill. A list of eight values went on the canteen wall.
The story.
- The leadership team agreed one governing thought and three messages, each with proof. Each manager was briefed a day before their team, and took the story to them in person.
The questions.
- Every question from the floor gets a written answer on the noticeboard within a week.
The behaviours.
- The eight values became three shifts. One was "from waiting to be asked, to raising a problem the day it appears". Each site manager is seen doing all three.
One month on.
- 3 messages, each with its proof
- All managers briefed before their teams
- 3 behaviour shifts, each with a from and a to
On a retake, both practices could be answered at the middle stage.
What it looked like in our work
From our own work. Redrawn.
A drinks producer's programme put one governing thought over four messages. Each message had its proof points under it, so every manager told the same story.
- Grow profit, to become the most successful business in our industry
- Learn from the past, look to the futureA lasting change to how we work, not a short project; no part of the business left out
- Owned and led by usOur own people know the business best; the chief executive and the top team drive it
- Smarter and simplerSimpler processes, not doing more with less; looking outside our industry for good practice
- Focus on growthGrowth, not shrinking to success; quick wins build the momentum
The story then travelled in a set order:
- The chief executive gave an overview at a gathering of staff.
- Senior leaders came to a debrief session. They took away a deck, talking points and answers to likely questions, to pass on to their teams.
- A project site held the workstreams, the leads and the key dates.
- Regular updates rotated through the workstreams, and featured different leads.
- Staff got a channel to send in their own ideas.
- Leaders gave an update through the next results briefing.
- Recognition programmes rewarded the people who contributed.
5. Effort and dependencies
- Chief executiveOwns the governing thought and opens the story.
- Leadership teamBriefs managers first and models the behaviours.
- Head of peopleRuns the monthly mood check and the answers to questions.
What you need
- The case for change from making the case and sizing the ambition.
- A list of every manager who leads a team.
How long
- From launch, then monthly.
What gets in the way. We have seen this in our own work:
- What good looked like. A drinks producer agreed four messages and briefed its senior leaders before they cascaded them.
6. How will you know it worked?
The test is what the floor heard, from whom, and what leaders are seen doing. Retake the check after the first monthly mood check. Each of these should be true when you answer:
| Practice | You can answer Competent when | A document alone does not count if |
|---|---|---|
| Whether the few behaviours that matter are named and reinforced | Three to five behaviour shifts are named with their from and to, and leaders are seen doing them. | The shifts are on a poster, and nothing in routines or pay has changed. |
| How the story reaches people and how fatigue is managed | Managers are briefed before their teams and take the story in person, and questions get answered. | The plan fires on schedule, and the floor's questions go unanswered. |
The worked example is illustrative.
Think we've used your work without proper credit? Tell us and we'll fix it.