The Change Starts Here Blog

99 Ways to Influence Change, #60: Identify key behaviors

July 30, 2010

I’ve heard it said that leaders should only point people in the direction they want them to go, and leave them to their own devices to figure out how to get there. In my experience, however, organizational change is usually not just about getting to the end result. Instead, change usually also entails the way people are accomplishing those results. To influence change, identify the key behaviors that people should perform that will most likely bring about the change.

Of course, you can’t script out every move people should take. Not only would it be time-consuming, but it would also be dis-empowering and demoralizing. You want people to be able to use their creativity and brains to help the organization improve. But if it matters how people are doing their jobs to accomplish the result, then they should not be left to read minds and figure it out for themselves. Let them know the critical few things they need to make sure they do.

A few years ago I was involved in an effort to develop a process improvement culture. We had some success with increasing suggestions and creating process improvement teams, but the concept really didn’t sink into the culture until we asked managers to do three things:

Ask your direct reports for opportunities for improvement.
Have regular work group meetings to develop and implement solutions.
Keep track and report back the status of their ideas to the group.

Until we incorporated the behaviors into the fabric of the department manager’s job and relationship with their team, the process improvement concept was just a side project. Identify the key behaviors that people should incorporate into their jobs and see change get embedded into how things are done.

What key behaviors will drive your change?

Read more of the 99 Ways to Influence Change.

99 Ways to Influence Change, #59: Incite a riot

July 29, 2010

Imagine a group of people who are so fed up with the current state of things that they all band together to stand up and do something about it. What if you could harness the energy of a crowd who just decides that enough is enough, we’re going to revolt? Perhaps you could even create the circumstances, and incite a riot!

Anger and frustration can be powerful forces that tend to be pent up. Once they get strong enough, they only need a trigger to let loose all that energy. Of course, you don’t want to literally incite a riot, with all the chaos and danger that word invokes. But, if you can feed the fire to the point where people say, “We just can’t take it anymore!” about the current situation, then your job is to focus all that pent-up frustration into a positive and constructive direction.

Most organizational leaders prefer not to work up their employees into a frenzy, and also like to keep the dissatisfaction to a minimum. But if you need to develop a strong sense of urgency to move away from the status quo, inciting a riot might be the way to go.

How might you incite a riot?

Read more of the 99 Ways to Influence Change.

99 Ways to Influence Change, #58: Ask for help

July 28, 2010

When it comes to motivation, few things pack as much power as tapping into people’s altruistic nature. One way to enlist someone to the cause is simply to ask for their help.

People like to feel needed. When you ask for help, you admit that you can’t implement the change on your own, and that the other person holds an important piece of the puzzle. You connect them to a cause greater than themselves.

Asking for specific help in small doses works as well. When you request a favor, the understanding is that the person will do it just because it is the nice, friendly thing to do. Often people will take small steps in the right direction just because they want to help the person who asked.

To influence change, appeal to the other person’s generosity of spirit, and ask for help.

Who might you ask for help?

Read more of the 99 Ways to Influence Change.

99 Ways to Influence Change, #57: Find the emotion

July 27, 2010

Presentations and meetings about change projects are often filled with numbers, charts, graphs, dollar signs and time lines – a lot of analysis aimed at convincing minds that logically, this is an effort that we should undertake. While quantitative analysis might be the basis for making the decision to change, the motivation for actually changing comes from the heart instead. To influence change, find the emotion.

During change, we are moving away from the current state and toward some desired future state. Similarly, there are emotions that repel us and those we would like to experience more of. Here are some examples:

Move away from	Move toward
anger annoyance anxiety disgust embarrassment fear frustration sadness	curiosity happiness hope love optimism pride relief trust

Remind people often of the negative emotions they are moving away from when they choose to take part in the change. Tap into the positive emotions they will experience to propel them forward.

What emotions might motivate change?

Read more of the 99 Ways to Influence Change.

99 Ways to Influence Change, #56: Invite to participate

July 26, 2010

Simply announcing (through an e-mail blast, newsletter, bulletin board, etc.) that an opportunity exists to join in a change project may have limited results. A more effective means of influencing people to participate is a personal invitation.

It’s easy for people to dismiss an indiscriminate announcement looking for volunteers. Even someone who is interested in participating may have doubts about whether they are the right person for the project or may come up with easy excuses for not signing up or taking part in the new behavior or activity. On the other hand, if someone is personally invited, you make them feel like they were chosen to take part, recognized for their special role in the organization. Plus, it’s more difficult to say no to a personal invitation.

Of course, it would be difficult to personally invite every single person in the organization to go through change. The personal invitation is better suited to get the initial people on board, so you can demonstrate to the masses that people are in fact participating. Recruit people up front who have passion for or interest in the change, those who are influential, or those in a visible role… or maybe even someone who might otherwise be your biggest resistor.