Every society, organization or group has informal communication channels for the spread of information by those with informal power and influence. Informal communication channels can play a positive role in a group when used with integrity. They can serve as a glue to connect people with each other through shared stories and a shared understanding of what is happening amongst them.
When used negatively, however, informal communication channels can have devastating effects on a group of people, large or small. Incorrect and misleading information can be fed out to the organization to sow confusion, stir frustration or advance an agenda not beneficial to the organization. The informal information communication channels become Misinformation Machines.
What does this have to do with change in education organizations? The deliberate spreading of incorrect information about change through a Misinformation Machine is a tried-and-true strategy for obstructing and derailing change by those who feel threatened or have another personal agenda. Instead of using their talents and experience to help the organization move forward with change, change obstructionists apply their time and energy to deliberately feeding their Misinformation Machine with incorrect information about the change and those leading it. The misinformation can spread so quickly that it is almost impossible to keep up with getting correct information about the change out there.
Those who are threatened by change feed one particular type of misinformation into their Misinformation Machine—that which generates fear. They are strategic fear mongers. The more afraid every employee becomes of the change, the greater the likelihood the change will be obstructed or derailed. And people become afraid not based on the facts being presented to them but on the emotional impact of the misinformation.
If you hear a story from a Misinformation Machine in your education organization as it is undergoing change, take the time to fact check what you hear. Just as you teach your learners to evaluate information and sources in whatever subject they are studying, evaluate the information you are being given. Ask yourself these questions:
- Who is the information from?
- How likely is it that this person actually knows the truth of the situation?
- How can you check the veracity of the information being circulated?
- What is their agenda in spreading the information via their Misinformation Machine?
The last question above is the most important one. Everyone who uses a Misinformation Machine has an agenda. Find out what that agenda is and decide if you want to participate in it.
If you are tasked with leading change in your education organization, factor the potential for Misinformation Machines into your change plan. Build a communications plan deliberately aimed at counteracting misinformation. Identify those in your organization most likely to create and feed a Misinformation Machine. Engage with them before they can even start their misinformation plans. And identify what employees are most likely to be afraid of with respect to the change and design messaging to specifically address those fears.
Don’t let a Misinformation Machine in your education organization, and those driving it, win out over change that your organization desperately needs in order to remain competitive, innovative and viable.