Listen to most organizational development professionals and they will tell you that the key to organizational change is to communicate, communicate and then to communicate again. I would pose another question, and that is how are you communicating the message and how is it being received? Are your messages being received in the context you intended them to be received?

When we are considering an organizational change the message and its delivery is key to the success of the effort. We need to take into consideration the orientation of our human capital assets to the change. The communication piece must allow the organization to explain where we are at present. It must explain the reasons why the current state is a problem and the outcomes if we do not change. It must also explain what changes the organization is intending to make and what the changes mean to the employees.

Everyday we are bombarded by a million different messages which we may filter out depending on how the message is delivered( in print, by telephone, in social media). When our human capital assets receive these messages they filter the message through a wide range of glasses, which range from their current state of health to whether they got out of bed in a bad mood this morning. These messages therefore have to be carefully crafted to reach a maximum benefit level.

There are a number of assessment tools out there to evaluate your message to help answer the questions posed above. The problem is that depending how they are used the focus changes. It changes from being about the organization to the human capital asset. Many of the assessments including DISC, MBTI and Strength Finders are centered on how you view the way the world sees you. It is dependent on whether you have a true picture as to how your message comes across.

Recently while attending the National Speakers Association convention in San Diego I had the pleasure of attending one of the concurrent sessions conducted by Sally Hogshead. Sally was presenting a program based on her new book How the World Sees You.

Sally Hogshead’s contention is that each of the assessments mentioned above, while valuable, reflect how we feel the world see us. She has created a new assessment tool titled the Fascination Advantage System, which is the first assessment to truly indicate how the world sees your message. Through the assessment it provides two outcomes. The first it demonstrates what is your advantage in the work environment and second it shows you a way to develop an anthem or statement of what you do based on the assessment results.

Prior to the San Diego session I was given the opportunity to take the assessment and it clearly showed that in some directions my message was not constructed to get the most out of value that I was sending. I needed to change my message to show the impact of the assessment results. Consider this change – prior to the assessment our message was that we assist organizations through strategy, innovation and alignment of objectives. After the assessment – we deliver focused results-oriented solutions to create more efficient organizations. Which one has the better impact to your organization?

I encourage you to visit Sally’s website (http://www.howtofascinate.com) and learn more about this exciting new tool for creating strong and impactful messages within your communication events. Communication is a critical and integral part of our efforts to enhance the organization through its mission statements, its vision and its strategic, innovative and aligned efforts.