Many leaders talk more about change than actually drive it.

To put it bluntly, it’s all talk and no action.

They give speeches about how they want to improve the diversity of the organization, because diversity is essential.

A month later, they are talking about innovation.

Then they are talking about competitiveness and retention.

After a while, the employees start to feel the same as when politicians speak. It sounds good, it even sounds great, but everyone knows that they are only saying what is necessary.

If you’ve ever worked in a large organization, especially a government department, you know what I mean. They talk about cutting red tape, while living and breathing red tape.

I once heard the head of an organization talk about reducing the layers between frontline employees and strategic leadership.

A week later the same person announced a new level of management.

I’m not saying they made a mistake in adding this layer. But it’s empty words like this that erode trust, and therefore your ability to bring about change.

This is the reality in which you live as a strategic leader:

If you say something once, people will smile and nod.

If you say it several times, they will mentally file that topic away. For example, talk about innovation and suddenly employees will justify their new computers, which they were always going to buy, by saying it will make them more innovative.

But if you bring up a topic every day…

Make it the center of your communications…

And keep saying it for months…

…your people will sit up and take notice.

The change cannot be communicated. You have to over communicate it.

Overcommunication shows that you mean business.

It keeps the message at the forefront of everyone’s mind.

Reshape the conversations everyone has.

I remember a strategic leader I worked with. His fixation was on the…six values ​​of the organization? I don’t remember exactly what it was, but it was the kind of thing written on the lobby wall and all over his stationery.

For most organizations, these values ​​are catchy slogans. After all, Enron’s corporate motto spoke of integrity. Clearly empty words.

For this leader, however, values ​​were essential.

Each time he presented an award, he mentioned that the behavior exemplified a specific value.

Every time he announced a new initiative, he framed it in terms of values.

Every email referenced them, no, revered them in some way.

They were his lodestar.

And your people? They knew he was serious.

A casual reference to something is not enough. If you want your people to embrace change, you need to remind them every day.

It may seem like you bore them or patronize them.

You are not. You are showing that this change matters.

You can only bore them if you say the same thing over and over again.

However, talk about the same thing in new ways?

That is the powerful recipe for change.