Ian Scotland explains the meaning of WEDGE, a method for understanding and implementing the importance of communication in change management.
Almost every single writer on change management stresses the importance of clear and constant communication as a lever in achieving effective change. The 'gurus' - Handy, Bridges, Peters et al - write about the need to keep people informed and to 'share the vision'. Despite this - and despite the recognition of the need by almost every change agent - we still see some change programs start with a great flurry of activity and publicity, only to fizzle out in a few weeks or months.
Many change agents make the mistake of starting well, but not finishing. Projects begin enthusiastically, but as they meet the natural resistance to change from which almost everyone suffers, the momentum is lost. In part, this resistance is a desire on the part of those affected to stay in the 'comfort zone', and in equal measure there is generally a fear of the unknown. Together these two attributes combine to produce the two most common reactions to change - 'denial' and 'paralysis'. Both of these qualities feature on the change curve shown in Figure 1. Interestingly, this model is also used to describe reactions to grief, and for many people change produces a grieving for that which has been lost. While working recently with a group of senior leaders from a UK bank, I was looking for an analogy to illustrate the common mistake of putting too much emphasis on the initial communication of change - where insufficient attention and resource are devoted to maintaining the communication channels throughout the life of the change, resulting in an incomplete change programme. The WEDGE model was the result.
No communication model should be without its mnemonic, and so we arrive at WEDGE - the content and process of effective change management communication. Let's break down the mnemonic to see what it means. W = the vision (this is based on five of Kipling's 'six honest serving men' - what, where, who, when and why); E = everything; D = depth of communication; G = graduate; and E = evaluate.
Using this process of communication has had an impact with a number of different client organisations. Many senior managers are relatively inexperienced in change management, and simply fail to understand the impact that poor communication can have. As one manager admitted: 'I didn't realise until now why my people found change difficult. Now that I understand what they're feeling, I can adjust my message and make it easier for them. Since I've started to focus on communicating in greater depth, and really trying to listen, I've found find that our level of understanding is much greater. We're achieving more and my people are happier and feel more involved.' The above is an adaptation of the full article, which appeared in the December 2000 edition of Training Journal. The text explains what WEDGE is, how it works, and how you can incorporate its strategies into your own organisation. To give you a clue, WEDGE is a mnemonic for understanding the content of, and implementing the process for, effective change management communication.
Ian Scotland can be contacted at (tel) 01342-178203, (email) or by visiting (web site)http://www.ianscotland.co.uk/
Document Number 12005.DOC
Training Journal Abstract (This page opens in a new window) Issue: December 2000 Title Driving a WEDGE into change management communication Author: Ian Scotland Keyword: Communication