As a performance coach, I’ve dedicated my career to helping teams thrive during periods of change. Maintaining high performance while navigating organisational transitions can be a stormy balance, but calm seas and plain sailing can be enabled by tapping into a few key coaching tools.
When working with teams, I always begin with a foundational framework I call GRIP: Goals, Roles, Interactions, and Processes. This is a slight adaptation on GRPI, an acronym that stands for Goals, Roles, Processes, and Interpersonal relationships. Based on the approach to team development introduced in the early 1970s by Richard Beckard.
Broadly, the model provides organisational leaders with a comprehensive framework for effective and efficient teamwork in the workplace. It is rooted in emotional intelligence and helps teams stay grounded during uncertainty. It’s remarkable how often I see teams try to push through change without first establishing these basics.
The key questions at the outset of any change process to ask, include:
1. What is your team GOAL and what does it mean to get there?
2. How does everyone’s ROLES contribute?
3. What INTERACTIONS will be key to success?
4. What PROCESSES will enable success?
One of the most effective tools in my toolkit is what I call the Adaptable Communication Model. It’s a more nuanced evolution of the traditional forming-storming-norming framework. The process begins with exploration – really diving deep into the situation. From there, we move to understanding, then empathy, followed by innovation to create new pathways forward. Finally, we reach the activation phase where plans become reality.
In my years of coaching, I’ve found that the ‘seven-by-seven rule’ is crucial when communicating change. The principle is simple but powerful: share the same message seven times in seven different ways. For example, via email, in-person conversation, chat on the phone, WhatsApp messages, visual newsletters, coffee mornings or weekly catch ups.
It might sound excessive, but I’ve seen it work time and time again. The human brain needs repetition and variety of communication channels to truly internalise new information.
It’s important to emphasise the ‘3C’s of change communication’ which include:
1. Clarity in the message
2. Care for the people affected
3. Concrete next steps
Too often, I encounter leadership teams who default to keeping information close to their chest. In my experience, this usually stems from one of the 3C’s being missing. Either the message isn’t clear enough, there’s insufficient demonstration of care for the team, or the next steps haven’t been properly defined. When we address these three elements, I consistently see faster buy-in from team members.
One of my favourite analogies when discussing change is comparing it to weather. Just as some people thrive in the rain while others flourish in sunshine, each person experiences change differently. I use this metaphor to help teams understand that change, like weather, ebbs and flows constantly – but our response to it can vary dramatically.
Fluid Approaches
In today’s business environment, I emphasise that we must let go of rigid, concrete structures and embrace more fluid, adaptable approaches. Trying to maintain ‘the old ways’ during significant change is like trying to sail a ship while keeping the anchor down – it’s counterproductive and exhausting.
The most successful teams I work with are those who understand that change isn’t just about surviving disruption – it’s about evolving and growing through it. They recognise that maintaining high performance during change requires a delicate balance of structure and flexibility, communication and action, empathy and progress.
I’ve found that when teams embrace these principles – the GRIP framework, adaptable communication, the seven-by-seven rule, and the 3C’s – they don’t just survive change, they thrive through it. The key is approaching change not as a threat to be managed, but as an opportunity to evolve into something better.
Karl Green
Karl, with a rich background in performance, dance, and musical theatre, transitioned from a decade-long career as a professional theatre artist to wellness coaching in 2022. Now, as a transformational performance coach and member of Wishfish Coaching & Development, he combines his artistic expertise with coaching skills to help individuals and groups unlock their potential through bespoke workshops and personalised coaching.
