We’re changing things up. Here’s why.
Hi there
If you’ve been following CSA for a while, you’ll be familiar with T-time – our monthly email newsletter covering all sorts of workplace communication topics.
But we’ve recently realised we’ve outgrown it.
For several months now, we’ve been seeing some very real (and serious) communication challenges at the coalface. Teams are working from home, the office and everywhere in between. AI is suddenly doing half the things we used to do ourselves. And for the first time, four generations are working side by side – with very different expectations of how, when and where we communicate.
And somehow, leaders are expected to muddle through it all.
When we first created T-time in 2024, we wanted something uber quick and easy for our audiences to read. And that was precisely what everyone loved about it. But lately, we’ve found the format too limiting. Some topics deserve more than a quick once-over – and T-time simply wasn’t designed for that.
So, T-time is no more.
In its place? Say hello to The Human Voice – a more premium, personal monthly email (from me), with each issue delving deeper into a single workplace communication challenge.
And seeing as I’m making a change and communicating it to you right now, it seems only fitting that we start there:
How do workplace leaders communicate change well?
When we think about changes at work, our minds tend to go straight to the big stuff – restructures, mergers, redundancies. But change can also be as everyday as switching someone’s reporting line, reshuffling responsibilities or asking everyone to come into the office an extra day.
Big or small, there’s one thing people almost always want to know:
Why is this change happening?
And generally, they deserve an answer. An honest one.
Skip over the ‘why’, and people will fill the gaps themselves. And trust me, their assumptions can be way more creative (and often, dramatic) than the truth.
But that doesn’t mean you should explain everything either. It means telling them just enough for the decision to make sense.
Share too much, and you can create questions that weren’t there before – or sound like you’re trying too hard to justify the decision. Over-explaining a straightforward change can also make it sound bigger and more contentious than it really is.
Let’s say you’re asking your team to come into the office an extra day. Tell them there have been a few communication breakdowns lately, and you think more face-to-face time will help. But perhaps don’t tell them that Dave hasn’t responded to Sophie’s last three Slack messages, Sophie only found out about the new client when she bumped into someone from Finance… and last Thursday they both turned up to a meeting expecting the other one to present.
In other words, give people enough context to understand the change. Then stop.
Knowing what to leave out is just as important.
Until next time!
