The path of change is not linear.  Nor is it predictable.  Circumstances change.  The urgent pops up and pushes attention aside.  People react to change in ways you don’t expect.  Others say one thing and do the opposite.  The new system you designed doesn’t work the way it should.  It costs more than you thought.  All kinds of things occur that throw you off your original plan.

As a change agent, it can be tempting to stick to your plan about how change should happen.  But when something new and unexpected happens, you suddenly have a new reality that was different from the one you started with.  You will have to readjust your approach in order to continue forward.

Be flexible.  Keep an open mind about alternate routes to the same end result.  Don’t bang your head against the wall trying to stick to the way you thought it should work.  If what you’re trying isn’t working, try something else.  Dance with it.

Where do you need to be flexible?

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It is easy to think that in order for people to take your initiative seriously, you have to be, well, serious.  My general observation about life is that most people are happier, more open minded, and less defensive when they are having fun than when they are being serious.  If people are smiling while participating in the change, it means they are enjoying it and will want to continue the experience!  To influence change, make it fun!

Play and humor help with many aspects of change.  Here are some of the things you can accomplish by adding fun:

• Gain attention
• Kick people out of their comfort zones
• Neutralize office politics
• Entice people to participate
• Make it memorable
• Increase creativity

You don’t have to be serious for people to take the change seriously.  Fun will reinforce the change when it consistent and aligned with other messages.  So add humor.  Incorporate play.  Include a game.  Be silly.  Make it fun!

How might you make your change initiative fun?

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As behavior modification goes, guilt and its partner shame are effective – albeit demoralizing – tactics for getting people to fall in line.  The feeling of guilt is caused by making someone believe they have done something wrong and that they should blame themselves for it.  The bad experience is the impetus for that person to conform to the “right” way next time.  One way to influence change is to induce guilt.

Any behavior we use to convey judgment of someone else has the potential to induce guilt.  A stern reprimand, a disgusted eye roll, an incredulous look, a snicker.  The key is to make the person feel bad for stepping out of the norm, going against group values, or breaking the rules.

People generally don’t want to be around others who make them feel guilty all the time, so I don’t recommend this as a long-term influence strategy.  However, we all induce guilt from time to time without necessarily thinking about it, mainly because it tends to work in small doses.

This one was not originally included, but belongs on the list of Everyday Influence Tactics Not Found in Leadership Books.

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I once worked in a building where the official name of the wall color was Touch of Gray.  It was stark raving neutral with a hint of depression!  When I took on the task of improving creativity and innovation, I suggested that we change the default color to something warmer, and also let people paint their offices.  That idea was nixed, so for my own office (and sanity), I spiced it up by hanging colorful curtains and reupholstering the gray cubicle walls that made up my desk with red fabric.  Suddenly my office became a wellspring of ideas and a place that I wanted to sit and work.  To influence change, adjust the environment.

Our physical environment affects our perceptions and emotions, and enables our activities.  It’s best if the environment in your organization aligns with the change you want to implement.  Ask yourself:

• Are conference rooms equipped and decorated in ways that support how you want people to act in meetings?
• Do the layouts of break rooms and other gathering locations facilitate the types of interactions you want to create?
• Does the flow of the manufacturing floor or the distribution area enable good decisions?
• Do the plaques and displays in the lobby give the right impression about the direction the organization is going and the things you want to celebrate?
• What adjustments might you make to the parking lot?  The mail room?

I was just reading yesterday about a study that showed that people who sit in comfy chairs are more amenable to negotiations, and those sitting in hard chairs are more rigid in their positions.  Holding hot coffee instead of a cold drink makes people more generous.  We are very much connected to the world we live and work in.  Take an inventory of the environment of your organization and see what might need adjusting to help support your change.

How might you adjust the environment?

Read more of the 99 Ways to Influence Change.