One of the most important skills of change managers is the ability to influence people to change. There are plenty of reasons some change managers are successful while others are not. A successful change manager can encourage people and motivate people to move towards the direction of change because this manager understands and knows what can make them do so and what can hamper them from doing so.
There are plenty of factors – big and small, that can influence individuals and groups to support change, or do so otherwise. The biggest factors, or the deal makers or breakers, include organisational culture, communication, systems and processes, and teamwork; organisational leadership structure, resistance and the amount and level of leadership support to carry out the project (which is the change that needs to happen).
Getting the Know the Organisation and its People
Orgainsational environments vary and the amount of work that needs to be done, in order to create change, highly depends on the prevailing organisational political and leadership culture. Leaders are the major influencers in any change project. And most leaders are in their positions due to tenureship, skillset, or expertise. Other major influencers who do not occupy any leadership roles are people in the organasition who are recognised for their character and reputation — these are the people who matter because people respect them and seek their advise or opinion for professional, and sometimes even for personal matters.
These stakeholders have the ability to sway the vote of the people and influence their behavior towards change. It is extremely important to engage with them, so that they can positively influence and encourage the rest to support change.
Organisational culture is the collective behaviour of the people within the organisation; it is the protective wall surrounding the cellular structure of the organisation and mainly influences internal communications, how people work together, and how things are done around the workplace. It protects the intrinsic value of the organisation, as well as the individuals within it.
Learning the Ropes
One of the biggest mistakes a change manager can make is dismantling an organisational culture without first getting to know its people, how the organisation is being led and who the people are in leadership, especially those with parochial self-interest, as they are highly likely to resist change or are reluctant to support change. The reason behind their resistance is they fear that they will lose something of value to them due to the occurrence of change. They become protective of their current status and tend to look at what they could lose over what they can possibly gain if they support change.
It is important to make the organisation and its stakeholders understand that change doesn’t necessarily require reinventing a whole new culture to layer over the old one. Instead, it is creating improvements in certain areas that impact other areas within the organisation, be it in an organisational level or an individual level.
Making the benefits of change visibile is crucial in convincing people about the importance of the change and getting their buy in. These are the things that change managers can present to those who are affected by the change, especially when there is resistance.
Resistance automatically comes across as a hurdle for many change managers, but for those who lead successful projects, they see this as a very important element that they can use to enhance their implementation and strategy. Feedback from this group of people is valuable as it presents the fears, uncertainties, and any unclear issues that they are facing, which mainly hinder them from seeing change in a more positive lens. Resistance rooting from these issues can be handled by educating, involving, facilitating support, goal setting and even by negotiating. These techniques often lead to a better outcome, as people are persuaded using positive techniques, and increase their involvement and the support that they are getting in order to fully adapt to the new environment. In certain situations where resistance is coming from a more unforgiving and a really tough crowd, there is a tendency to apply coercive power in the form of manipulation, coercive techniques (direct or indirect), and co-option. Anyone utilising this form of power must be very careful in doing so, as navigating this route is a slippery slope and can lead to unproductive, less desirable outcomes. And though it will still produce results, turning the whole situation around and being able to persuade people to move towards the right path only becomes possible when these stronger measures are followed up with a more positive approach like the ones mentioned earlier: education, facilitating support, goal setting, negotiating, and involving them in a way that does not overwhelm them in order to achieve a positive outcome. These positive reinforcements create a healthier change environment and improve communication, which leads to a smoother flow of information from both ends.
There are various strategies to overcome resistance, which is why it is important for change managers to understand the type of situation they are dealing with, in order for them to pick the right strategy and develop an effective approach to overcome the resistance. This way, a change manager can balance their management style by giving value to building relationships, while making sure that the project is moving towards the right direction.
Motivating People to Change
Echoing the points mentioned above, there are healthier, highly productive, and effective ways that change managers can employ to motivate people to change. According to experts, there are 8 effective ways to inrease people’s motivation towards chagne.
- Be specific about the Change
Provide a clear path for people to follow by creating a flow and process, a timelline of activities, and what to expect at each phase of the implementation. When stating the change, it is important to use specific language and clearly defined terms to avoid confusion or any misunderstanding, not leave anyone in their own interpretation of the matter.
- Listen to what the stakeholders and employees have to say
Treating resistance and feedback as opportunities to improve the process and the activities designed to implement the change will actually do change managers plenty of good. It will give them an understanding and the opportunity to peep into the thoughts of those who are going through the process of change, and help them determine the right approach to address the concerns of the people and the level of engagement that they need to perform.
- Appreciate and recognize the Feedback
Make them know that you heard them by acknowledging their feedback. This shows them that their voices were heard and what they said matters.
- Use Emotional Intelligence to drive positive results
People are more motivated by leaders who lead by example, are problem solvers and progressive minded. They do not resort to pointing fingers when something goes wrong and do not fear accountability. When people are inspired by their leaders to move towards a positive and progressive route, they are more motivated to change and see the up side of things.
- Throw light on the Why and state the WIIFMs (what’s in it for me)
Explaining the Whys, like why change is needed, why it’s good, why it’s beneficial, will help people understand the need for change and what’s in it for them. Showing people how they can benefit from it will help persuade and convince them to move towards the right direction with you.
- Define Roles
Be clear about the areas of responsibilities, what the leaders are meant to do, and how they’re supposed to be doing it. This ensures the proper expectaions are set, thereby reducing unsatisfactory ratings in leadership and project management
- Provide Training
Most people’s fears come from uncertainty and not knowing how to handle their new role and responsibilities. By training them – up skilling or cross training, will remove any feeling of uncertainty and will increase their confidence. When people know what to do and how to do what they’re supposed to do, they work with a level of confidence that brings them to a state where they are less intimidated by and more welcoming of change.
- Acknowledge, appreciate and reward Acceptance
One way to reward acceptance is by giving these individuals and teams public recognition. Using them as examples for best practices can boost their morale and further improve their motivation, and will inspire the less motivated, even the completely unmotivated people, to follow their lead and start putting in their efforts to accept change and adapt to it. This strengthens the overall organisational commitment to change, thereby encouraging anyone who has very little trust in the process and those with low tolerance to change, to see the benefit it brings and what it can do for them, too.
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Working with the People
For any type of change ,people look for guidance and a roadmap to follow, so that they can effectively navigate the path towards the expected outcome. The change process must be as efficient as it can possibly be, both in theory and in practice, in order to persuade and motivate people to follow it. People are more motivated to change when they have a clear understanding of where it starts and where it ends, because they know what to expect and they are guided all throughout the process. The goals are clear and the path is well defined. A well-structured process makes the road to change more appealing, because it is clear and well-defined; it becomes more logical and people know what to expect.
People, by nature, are averse to change, because it forces them into unfamiliar situations and areas of their work, and they are pushed out of their comfort zones. When we talk about getting out of comfort zones and ventuirng into uncharted territories, people will automatically assess the need for change based on the expected outcome. Is it worth the discomfort? Will a change in leadership improve the team’s morale and increase their productivity? Will a change in process increase the team’s efficiency rate and productiion rate? — the expected outcome is always the deciding factor. This is what the Expectancy Theory is all about. It explains that when people see that the change is worth their time, effort, their paradigm shifts and they become more focused on the goal. This motivates them to change, because they know they will reap the rewards of change in the end. They know what to expect.
Cultivating a positive response to change by recognising it and rewarding it, makes people more likely to participate and get involved. It is a form of valence, when a positive response is associated with a reward or a recognition.
When the end result matters to them, they are motivated to do the work to achieve it; because the rewards are of value to them. This makes change instrumental to their success.
Equity and Valued Outcomes
Putting theory into practice, people need to see, feel, and know that all of them are treated fairly based on what they need to succeed and what support they need to overcome the challenges brought about by change. Equity determines the willingness of an employee or a stakeholder to support the change, as it is the quality of treatment that they and the others expect to receive if and whent they participate and support change. Equity says that the value of the outcome or the reward in the end must be directly proportional to the amount of effort that an individual puts into the work. Equity is a huge motivational factor, most especially for stakeholders who expect to be treated fairly and receive expected outcomes that are in proportion to their efforts, because not everyone is required to exert the same amount of effort or put in the same amount of effort in supporting change. A stakeholder who loses something of value in the process of supporting change will naturally expect to receive more than what another stakeholder that loses nothing would receive. It’s more like a guage of whether they are treated fairly in the process or otherwise.
For stakeholders, equity in treatment is a form of reward for their efforts to support change. It is what makes the valued outcome attractive or less attractive to them. Equity is all about whether the end result, no matter how promising or attractive it is, is worth the effort or not. And it is up to the change managers to make sure that they receive the right amount of equity, if they want them to support their campaign for change.