Key Takeaways
The foundations of a good change conversation still apply online, so prepare the same way and then adapt for the virtual setting.
Ask the hard questions in writing before the meeting, and ask every role the same question to see where the team is not aligned.
Use cameras, chat, polls, and breakout rooms to create safe spaces; treat silence as a signal to follow up, not as agreement.
Most change management involves having hard conversations, and most change management practices were built for in-person teams. But misalignment hides more easily across screens, and the nuances required for strong team-building get lost in the silence of remote work.
So how can teams have more effective conversations about organizational change - especially the hard ones - even when working remotely?
Many of the same foundational change management practices designed for in-person teams apply to virtual meetings as well; good facilitators just need to adapt these to virtual workflows:
+ Discuss with organizational leaders the overarching goals for holding the meeting
+ Learn about the current changes and any past changes that may be having effects on the team
+ Set and share with the group the meeting agenda clearly in advance
But virtual meetings need a skilled facilitator that can also pay attention to the quiet details, by doing the following:
+ Asking the hard questions in writing before the meeting - answers are often more candid in a short survey than they are on camera
+ Requesting cameras be on and use gallery view during the hard moments - you can't read the room if you can't see it
+ Using 1:1 chat functions, polls, and breakout rooms to give quieter voices more than one way to weigh in
The session draws on Ingrid Daffner Krasnow's 20 years in nonprofit strategy, communications, and management, including guiding organizations through mergers and helping young nonprofits grow past their founding teams.