The power of narratives in change

As advocates of narratives, we at Netco were inspired by an excellent HBR article on change management and decided to summarize it for all of us. https://hbr.org/2023/11/storytelling-that-drives-bold-change

The article talks about the effectiveness of narratives, about how our human species learns through stories. When the organization needs to renew itself, stories help clarify both the need for change and the vision for the future. According to our experience, this latter is sometimes the one that is lacking when it comes to managing change. It may be in our head or as a vision statement, but we forget to express it vividly. We are aware of the need to justify change and what will happen next, but we forget to vividly paint what our future will look and feel like.

1. Understand deeply, describe simply

The first key to good change management - the ability to understand deeply and broadly, while being able to describe the change as simply as possible. As a change leader, we must thoroughly understand the need for change and the underlying reasons from the perspective of customers and the market, and at the same time be able to describe this need very simply. First maybe write a page about it for yourself, then a paragraph, then summarize it in a sentence and finally maybe even just one word.

1. Respecting the past

When creating the future, it is important to visit the past. Understand and recognize the good parts of history. We easily focus on the things we want to change. Equally important is to bring out the things we don't want to change, the things we want to cherish. No matter how logical and obvious the need for change is, it can arouse opposition. Especially for those who have a long history in the company and who may therefore be afraid of what good things will be lost. It would be important to keep these people, or at least some of them, close to you. Yeah, to be honest, they're not necessarily the ones who inspire others and bring positive energy to the room. Equally, they are a valuable source of understanding issues that may arouse opposition. When it comes to change, we like to surround ourselves with a group of people who are in favor of change, get excited about our ideas and are driving the change. It would be equally important to take a few so-called gatekeepers close to you, so that you can understand people's concerns as first-hand information and not just through the bend. According to researchers from the University of Amsterdam (Merlijn Venus & co), leaders managed to build strong support for change when they specifically also emphasized continuity in the organization.

1. Acknowledge the things that are not on a sustainable basis

   
   

In addition to recognizing the good things, it is important to openly state the things that are not good. Sometimes these can also be very painful things. Things that you might have wanted to sweep under the carpet, be silent. Things that are potentially embarrassing. Possibly if the organization has lost the trust of customers or employees have been treated unfairly, even inappropriately. The more directly you acknowledge past mistakes, the better chance you have of winning customers/employees back to your side. We think Posti's advertising campaign was a good example of this recently.

1. Create a clear, compelling case for change

   
   

After you have recognized the good, bad and ugly aspects of the past, it is time to open up your rationale for creating a new future. You should start this by reflecting on the 'why' part of your plan. What challenge are we going to solve? What is the cost if we don't resolve this? The reasons for the change should be so strong that they overdrive familiar beliefs and behaviors. In other words, this means not just a small adjustment, but a deep reflection and justification of how we should change our actions and thinking in order to be sustainably successful in creating our new future.

1. Describe a clear and optimistic vision

   
   

It is essential to know how to communicate a picture of the future clearly. Without forgetting optimism. This is the journey you want people to join. You want to create a clear picture for people of what kind of journey people will be on and where the journey is taking them. This is where data helps, and especially simple data. Take Volvo as an example - we want half of our sales to be fully electric by 2025 and all of our sales by 2030.

1. Time to put the pieces of the story together

   
   

Now that the elements of the narrative are in place, it's time to get people behind it. And this is where repetition is key. It is essential to understand that the listener always approaches the situation from his own context, from which he listens to the narrative. The first time, he will probably hear some of it as you intended and internalize some of it. However, the memory is still not strong, but repetitions are needed. It is also important to involve other members of management and stakeholders in the narrative as narrators. Ask for feedback from customers, have an active dialogue with different stakeholders and refine and fine-tune the narrative based on this. In addition to words, numbers, videos, even cartoons can be used as help. Anything that brings the transformation story to life.

1. Remember the repetitions and emotions

   
   

We all have a thousand things on our minds. To truly internalize change, it takes repetition, repetition, repetition. Concrete talk about what our future will look like, how we are different, how we act in a new way, how our future feels. When it comes to repetitions, a good measure is that if you yourself are not yet bored with your own speech, you haven't done enough repetitions.

In addition, it is important to remember that the leader's emotional state is very contagious. If we believe in our cause, we genuinely see an attractive future ahead of us that we are proud of, it will catch on. If, on the other hand, we walk the corners deafened, provoked by questioning and resistance to change, it catches on and creates fear in its surroundings. In the change, the message of support is essential. When we start doing new things in a new way, it scares individuals, what if I fail, what if I can't. In this case, the message that the organization is supporting people on this learning journey is important. You're not ready right away, you don't need to know right away, we're on this journey learning together.

Wishing you a rewarding renewal journey. Remember to take care of your own recovery, so that you can also take the occasional storm gusts without losing optimism.