Managing change is critical work, but can be especially challenging in the University context, which is complex, decentralized, and academic mission-driven. Tools and frameworks for managing change often provide a big picture view and can be industry-specific, this guide will help prepare for 1:1 change conversations that are critical for bringing people along.
What are 1:1 change conversations and why do them?
Change conversations are discussions that happen periodically to:
Acknowledge the past. Employee’s experiences with change are shaped by their past experiences with it, which can form biases, assumptions, and perceptions that can negatively affect their ability to navigate change.
Clarify the change. Discuss and share the view of upcoming change, including employees’ readiness for change, understanding of the purpose of change.
Solicit input. Provide the opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns, which helps identify potential barriers and get their ideas for how they can support change.
Help prepare. Focus your feedback and support where they need it most (addressing motivation, new skill development, etc.).
Set expectations for their role in navigating this change. Gain commitment and ownership for supporting the change, not just compliance with the change.
This will help keep employees feeling validated, engaged, and see themselves as an active contributor and supporter of change initiatives. You can incorporate change conversations in your current 1:1 check-in conversations.
Prepare
Manager initiated, empathy-driven. As a supervisor, you can invite the conversation and demonstrate that you are open to discussion. Your goal is to understand how supportive someone is of the change and what you can do to bring them along.
Avoid Assumptions. Check your assumptions about how others feel (perhaps based on past experiences) and don’t assume that they are “like you” and perceive the change in the same way.
Conduct the Conversation
Open the conversation by talking about why the change is needed, why it is needed now, and how the change may or may not be connected with current work.
Select from the questions below.
Listen to understand: remember that the goal of this conversation is to meet an employee where they're at and help them see how they can be part of the change.
Assess their motivation and skills
When it comes to having change conversations, there is no one-size-fits-all approach, but if you are seeing hesitation or resistance, it is helpful to differentiate whether people “can’t do” or “won’t do” something. Focus your feedback based on where people are on the following dimensions:
Motivation (won’t do/will do): how motivated are people to support the change?
Skills, knowledge, and abilities (can’t do/can do): what skill gaps do they need to navigate the change effectively?
Graph with four quadrants displaying motivation on the x-axis (ranging from 'Won't do' to 'Will do') and skills, knowledge, and abilities on the y-axis (ranging from 'Can't do' to 'Can do'). The quadrants are: 'Skilled but Indifferent' (high skills but low motivation), 'Change Champion' (high skills and high motivation), 'Struggling and Unmotivated' (low skills and low motivation), and 'Eager Learner' (low skills but high motivation).
Follow up
Use regular, ongoing conversations to follow-up, check on progress, and adjust as needed. By revisiting these conversations in regular, ongoing check-ins, you will also foster trust and build rapport, which will help prevent difficult conversations from arising and make future difficult conversations easier.
