The urge to conform to a group norm is powerful.  When implementing change, this force can work against you, since no one wants to step out and break the unspoken rules.  But, it can also be used to get people to work by a new set of norms as well.  To influence change, harness peer pressure.

One way to harness peer pressure is to be very deliberate and open about it.  Within a group, explicitly agree on the new way of acting, and commit to a group response when someone strays from the new way.  Encourage members of the group to hold each other accountable.

As a facilitator, you can use it more subtly.  For example, if you have a couple of members of a team that are not completing their tasks on time, start the meeting with updates from those who have completed theirs first.  It will be more evident to the slackers that everyone else is performing their part.

Similarly, you can introduce a new person to an existing group that has already adopted a new behavior.  The group will indoctrinate the new person naturally.  Once they are done, you can rotate in someone else until everyone is on board with the program.

How might you harness peer pressure?

Read more of the 99 Ways to Influence Change.

I have never known anyone who can implement sustainable change without showing respect to the people going through the change.  I firmly believe that respect for others is the foundation for being an effective change agent.  People can smell insincerity from a mile away.  To influence change, show respect!

Respect starts with your belief that each person going through the change is on equal footing with you as a human being.  That their participation matters.  That they are individually worth the investment in time and money.  And that they are capable of making the change.

Treat people like they want to be treated.  Involve people, not as a necessary evil, but because the organization will be better for their participation.  When you encounter inevitable resistance, attribute it not to their being difficult, but to reasonable reactions to the forces of change.  Every person has the potential to make a contribution.  Treat them all as if they matter – because they do!

How might you show respect?

Read more of the 99 Ways to Influence Change.

According to Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, authors of Nudge:  Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness, actively selecting the “choice architecture” can influence the choice that is made.  In other words, you can present choices in such a way that nudges someone in the direction of the choice you want them to make.  To influence change, design choices.

Some of the design factors you might consider are:

• Location:  Place the choice you want people to select in the most readily available or visible spot.
• Number of choices:  Keep the number of choices small, so people don’t become overwhelmed and give up.
• Limited choices:  Limit the options to the ones you want people to select from.  When I offer my kids breakfast, I give them the choice of Cheerios or Rice Krispies – not Cheerios or cookies!
• Relative choices:  Since people compare between the options they are given, offer choices that are not as desirable compared to the one you want them to make.
• Requirement:  Force someone to make a decision (any decision), to help jolt them out of the status quo.
• Default:  Make the default option the one you want people to select.

People generally want the freedom to make their own decisions.  When they make their own decisions, they feel more ownership and commitment toward the choice they make.  As a change agent, you can guide those decisions by designing their choices.

How might you design choices?

Read more of the 99 Ways to Influence Change.

When the change is truly accomplished, a necessary caveat is that the person who has gone through the change has in some way incorporated it into their identity.  That is, they see the new attitude, behavior or activity as who they are and what they do.

For example, if your initiative includes increasing creative ideas from employees, then one requirement is to help those employees see that they are, in fact, creative.  Instead of thinking of all the ways to enable people to act creatively, or motivate them to be creative, you could help each of them think of themselves as someone who is already creative.

No matter how effectively you motivate and encourage someone, if they believe they are not someone who would or could participate in the change, then you are stuck in an uphill battle.  But, if you can change their perspective and give them a new identity, you can eliminate a lot of struggle and resistance.  Once you make the change a part of who they are, your job is simply to help get obstacles out of their way.

How might you incorporate the change into their identity?

Read more of the 99 Ways to Influence Change.

If you are an organizational change agent, think of yourself as the host of the change.  Like the host of an event, it’s your role to decide whom to invite and keep track of who plans to attend.  To welcome people and take care of the items they bring with them. To ensure their comfort and keep them well fed.  To provide relevant activities and to introduce the right people to each other.  To monitor that it doesn’t get too loud or rowdy.  And to clean up afterward.  In a nutshell, it’s your job to entertain!

The host also creates the atmosphere for the event.  Is your project a comedy, a mystery, a drama, a thriller?  What is the theme for your initiative?  When you entertain, you craft the experience that will help people understand and move through the change while giving them a reason to pay attention and participate.

How might you entertain?

Read more of the 99 Ways to Influence Change.

Tasks that are left open-ended have a tendency to be postponed indefinitely, especially when people are busy doing other things.  Without a due date, activities that are easier, more fun, or more urgent might take precedence over those required to implement your project.  To influence change, establish deadlines.

Setting deadlines helps people better plan their work.  It aligns people with others who are waiting for the job to be done.  And, it gives people who tend to be deadline-driven a reason to get started.

People may still miss deadlines because they forget, or it’s not a priority, or they procrastinate.  Set reminders.  Communicate a sense of urgency.  Seek to understand any underlying resistance.  Help people meet their deadlines once they are set.

Where might you establish deadlines?

Read more of the 99 Ways to Influence Change.