The senders and receivers are at the heart of any organizational change. Viewing a change from both of these perspectives is critical to managing the message, since senders of information and receivers of that information can hear the same information in drastically different ways.
As an example, let’s say that Supervisor Joan and Employee Ross sit down to chat about an upcoming company-wide restructuring. Joan is excited about the growth opportunities this represents for her department and is confused about why Ross seems less enthusiastic. Ross, the receiver, doesn’t hear Joan’s message that, “The company is restructuring in order to capitalize on growth opportunities.” Instead, Ross hears, “The company is having financial difficulties and I may soon be out of a job.” Part of the responsibility of an organizational psychologist is to make sure messages aren’t lost in translation.