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The contents of this newletter are also summarized in Attachment 1 – Leading Change. The purpose of this edition is to provide a brief overview of key points that will help one lead change more effectively.
When a change is being implemented it should come as no surprise that not everyone will support it. In fact, people will generally fall into one of four groups, those who will let it happen, help it happen, make it happen and resist it happening. A number of sources show that only about twenty percent of the people are change-friendly.
When implementing change most people tend to think of dealing with resistance. While this is important, building commitment is often over looked. Building commitment is to change what prevention is to risk management. Building commitment is critical to the success of any change initiative.
Building commitment can be accomplished in a number of ways. First, it is important to build relationships with others. Leadership is about relationships. Strong relationships involve mutual trust. You will find it hard to cultivate trust or relationships with others when you treat them as second-class citizens. Conversely, as we build strong relationships with people, they are more likely to trust us, and we them.
Second, commitment for change is built, as people are encouraged to participate in developing the details of coming changes. A number of things happen as people participate in planning for change. Some examples would include, developing a better understanding of coming changes, feel a sense of value because their thoughts and input are sought out, they have an investment in the plans and the success of those plans will reflect on them, and there is less resistance when an individuals “fingerprints” are on the plans.
One example of participation I have found it very helpful is to send people to visit other organizations that are doing what I want to do or something similar. In the public arena, I have always found organizations very open to entertaining a visit by other organizations. These visits have consistently provided very useful information, and have helped build commitment for change.
Third, when it isn’t possible to send people out, consider bringing people in to talk to staff. Bringing in someone who is a recognized expert can be beneficial. It is also helpful to bring others who may be line-level and can talk about why their organization made the change and what benefits they had obtained. Most recently, I brought in several citizens who spoke of the benefits of a program I was encouraging staff to adopt on a voluntary basis. A short talk by these citizens convinced a significant percentage to staff to sign up.
Fourth, sometimes it is best to approach building commitment in a direct fashion by asking staff what it would take to gain their commitment. This is probably best done with key individuals, like peer leaders. It can also be effective with people who you perceive will resist the change. One might approach it in this fashion, “We are contemplating making a change. What are your concerns and what can we do to mitigate your concerns, so we can gain your support?”
Once you have gained the critical mass of support, critical mass being the amount of support necessary to leverage support for the change, you should have a good idea of the level of support for the change. You should also have an idea of why people may resist the change.
Anticipate resistance. It is normal. It’s part of the proces
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