Why Doesn't Communicating More Fix a Struggling Change?
Every failed change initiative gets the same diagnosis: "We didn't communicate enough."
But that's not what actually happened.
What happened is that someone sent the same message five times and wondered why people still didn't get it. Or they held town halls that answered questions nobody was asking. Or they waited until implementation to explain decisions that should have been socialized months earlier.
The Communication Mismatch
Change communication fails when the format doesn't match what people need at that moment.
Early in a change, people need context and rationale. They're asking "why this" and "why now." Sending them implementation instructions at this stage creates confusion, not clarity.
Mid-change, people need concrete details about what's changing for them specifically. Giving them more strategic context when they're asking "what do I do differently on Monday" creates frustration.
Late in a change, people need performance support and troubleshooting help. Repeating the business case at this point feels dismissive.
The Escalation Trap
When communication doesn't land, the instinct is to escalate: send it again, make it louder, add executive visibility.
This works if the problem was actually awareness. It backfires if the problem was format or timing.
Escalating the wrong message at the wrong time doesn't make it right. It makes it harder to fix because now you've committed organizational credibility to an approach that wasn't working in the first place.
What Systematic Communication Looks Like
Effective change communication isn't about sending more. It's about sending the right thing at the right time in the right format.
That means:
Matching message type to where people are in their adaptation process
Recognizing that different audiences need different information at different times
Building communication sequences, not one-time announcements
Distinguishing between awareness, understanding, and capability
You can't solve a sequencing problem by increasing volume.
The Diagnostic Question
Before adding more communication, ask: "Are we giving people what they need right now, or what we need them to know?"
Those aren't always the same thing.
When they diverge, the communication plan serves the organization's comfort more than it serves the people adapting to change.
References & Related Reading:
1) Sweller, "Cognitive Load During Problem Solving" (Cognitive Science, 1988): https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1207/s15516709cog1202_4
2) Fogg Behavior Model (B=MAP), BJ Fogg, Stanford: https://www.thebehavioralscientist.com/articles/fogg-behavior-model
If you're running a rollout and want a plan for each stage, The DANCE System gives you 29 tools across five phases, from defining the change to keeping it in place after launch.
Related Blog Posts:
Why do change emails get ignored?
What does 'we need better communication' miss?
Quiz: What is blocking your change initiative?
