Influencing Change

Change is a constant in many corporate, government, and not-for-profit organizations. Change management is one of the most written about, yet least understood aspects of leadership. While many change leaders follow existing models and perform requisite rituals, too many continue to rely on hope as a strategy for success. The focus on managing change may itself be one of the sources of the continued challenges of strategizing and implementing change. Rather than studying the change, leaders may want to study their employees, customers, and other stakeholders to learn about where they can have the most influence. This session will consist of five ideas about influencing change through a focus on the people affected by the change. We will begin with the premise that no one can predict the future and build on the ways leaders and stakeholders construct their ideas of change. Then we will examine some of the psychology of resistance to change and discuss some tactics for influence against this resistance. Finally, we will talk about the power that external stakeholders have to influence change within your organization.

Five Good Ideas

1. Highlight potential losses.
2. Be explicit about “what’s in it for me”.
3. The strong bias towards the status quo.
4. A pull can be as, or even more powerful than a push.
5. The data dilemma: We insist on strong evidence to organizational challenges, except when change is required; then we ask for a leap of faith.

Five Good Resources

1. 12 Angry Men (1957) – a movie directed by Sidney Lumet
2. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert B. Cialdini
3. Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance?, Louis V. Gerstner Jr.
4. Leading Change, John P. Kotter
5. Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most, Douglas Stone et al.