Harbinger Blog

He told me about pitching an idea to build a tower in Montréal. He had done the work, thought through the details, and was feeling good about it. Before he could get through the full picture, someone had already found the problem. Not a question, not a “have you considered,” just a problem. Then another. The idea never got a fair shot. It got torn apart before it could breathe.

Feedback is ingrained into everything we do. From a comment on a shared document to a performance review, we are constantly sending and receiving signals about how we’re doing and what we can improve on. Good feedback builds trust, accelerates growth, and makes teams better. Bad feedback, on the other hand, can erode confidence, create resentment, and quietly poison the culture it was meant to improve. The difference between the two is rarely about intention.

Most employees don’t resist change. They resist another change that will fail. After enough poorly executed initiatives, new systems that don’t work, training employees too late or not enough, leaders who disappear after launch; people stop believing change will improve anything.

At Harbinger, there are a few things that are said every day. One of them is that change starts at the individual level. Sure, we see entire departments come together to restructure, or a company-wide change of implementing new software, but while that is an organizational change, it couldn’t happen without the individuals being willing to change on a personal level. Humans, by nature, are self-fulfilling individuals. We protect ourselves, make decisions for ourselves, and pr

Transparent and Engaging Communications for Change Enablement We often consider communications as a separate pillar within change methodologies. But the truth is, we need to consider communications at every phase of a change initiative. The reason? You cannot enable people for their change journey or expect engagement without being transparent about what is happening. When we disconnect communications from the phases, we lose the true value. Let us start by looking at the dif

Adam Rifai, Finance and Business Analyst/Associate Consultant discusses the top 3 critical components of effective remote working.

Join us this week to hear Rachelle Su, Associate Consultant talk about how storytelling can be used to drive change.

There’s no shortage of chatter regarding the coronavirus, so I’ve decided to take a different tone with this blog. Before I do that, I want to throw out one last reminder about the resources we have available for small to medium-sized businesses that are transitioning to a virtual work environment as a result of the current circumstances. You can check them out here. Back to this week’s blog, ‘What every business needs – A crisis communications plan’. Let’s start off by defin

Does anyone else feel like they’re living in the Upside Down? Coronavirus has touched every part of the world and has forced many, including government bodies and businesses to make decisions and enforce new processes at an unprecedented pace. At this stage, change has not only become the norm, but the speed in which these changes are taking place is something that the world has never experienced before. Take Ontario, for instance, my home province. Recently, the government a

Business transformations including restructures, divestitures, and acquisitions are happening all the time. These types of changes are delicate and need to be managed appropriately to minimize the impact to people, as well as the company’s brand and reputation. But what happens when something leaks, things move too quickly, or the news gets out before you can manage it with your people? These circumstances are rare, but we’ve seen it happen before. A recent example of thi

When you first hear the word conflict what comes to mind? I naturally think back to my upbringing where I was discouraged from any form of conflict. I was instructed to always do what I was told. I must admit, this mindset has stayed with me and it took many years and coaching from colleagues and leaders for me to change. So when I heard Dr. Liane Davey speak about conflict at The Art of Leadership conference earlier this month, it got me thinking about conflict and how i

The Impact of Storytelling in Change Management It’s likely you’ve experienced some change in the workplace during your career that’s left you wondering “why?”, consequently leading to other questions like “ how does this change apply to me?” or “what do I get out of this?”. There’s been plenty of times where organizations decide to make a change and end up leaving employees feeling left outside the loop. They also try to convince these same employees to be the driving forc

Last week Greg discussed the addiction adults have with their mobile phones in his blog about video training and one of the main drivers contributing to this is social media. The statistics speak for themselves. According to the Canadian Internet Registration Company, 74 per cent of Canadians spend an average of three to four hours online per day with social media being the top activity. Facebook continues to lead the charge with a staggering 80% of Canadians on the platfo

As technology both in the home and workplace has become more pervasive, virtual teams are on the rise. Companies are increasingly going virtual for the plethora of benefits. For employees, virtual teams allow more flexibility in their work hours and increase productivity by eliminating time typically wasted by commuting. A recent survey by Deloitte also found that millennials (expected to take up 75 per cent of the workforce by 2028) are more likely to stay in a role for more

We all know how important communications is especially during change. In fact, most of the change management methods recognize the importance of communications and includes it as part of the process. While this is good news, there’s certainly a misconception that communication is just a check box and developing a plan is enough. The truth? Developing a communications plan to align with the overall change management plan is critical, but effective communications takes much

Ever hear the words, “you lack empathy?” Chances are you have in some shape or form. When I did, it didn’t sit well and certainly not as truth. I often found myself caring and feeling a great deal in response to others, so how could it be true? A couple of years ago our team took the Clifton Strengths Finder test and to the sound of cackling laughter, the results ranked empathy as my 27th strength out of the 34. Something had to be done since you know, it is an attribute of s

Written in gratitude by Krista Schaber-Chan, Partner, Harbinger  As a change management and learning  professional, I thrive on the opportunity to lead companies through change. One of the things I enjoy the most about what I do is the variety I get from each new project as no two projects are ever the same.  Starting a new project always has its challenges, and with  many, in the role of Change Manager, I am often seen as the one coming in to disrupt the status-quo. Imagine